EP visited Medway Council where second year student Harvey Blazquez has been completing an internship with their Youth Service
Every year, the Medway Council Youth Services run a summer activities programme for 8–17-year-olds in Medway, and for several years have welcomed a Kent student on an internship to help run the programme, through the EP scheme. Harvey Blazquez, a second year Politics student, was the lucky intern this year, and has been very busy organising and supporting their huge and varied programme of events, from summer camps, fun days and escape rooms to a day trip with the Youth Council to the visit the Foreign Office.
Harvey’s workload has been incredibly varied, not only being able to work on the Youth activity programme, but also writing newsletters, making some much-needed updates to the website as well as being involved in the application for a large funding bid. He was very keen to give as much as he could to the council, and in return they did as much as they could to develop his skills through different training opportunities and tailored his experience to align with his own political interests. He particularly enjoyed being able to see the national food policies, as campaigned for by Marcus Rashford during the pandemic, truly benefitting the families in the local community who they work with. The internship has allowed him to develop in so many ways, not just with professional skills such as problem solving, communication and teamwork, but also really boosting his confidence with entering the graduate world of work after finishing his studies.
Not only has Harvey enjoyed the work that he has been doing at the council, but he has also really enjoyed working with the people in the service, commenting on the fact that everyone has been very friendly, helpful and supportive throughout his time with them. Not least his manager, Hazel Frost, who we were also able to chat to on the day. Hazel herself completed this exact EP internship several years ago and has been with the Youth Service ever since! Not only is this a great endorsement of this particular opportunity, but it means that Hazel is very keen to develop the internship year on year, to make it as beneficial as possible for the students. Hazel commented on Harvey’s excellent initiative, how he picks up on problems very quickly and works to solve the issues without hesitation: “he has been a hard worker with some fantastic ideas and has been a real asset to the service”.
Harvey would encourage all students to join the EP scheme, particularly those who might be concerned about their prospects: “The scheme gives you confidence and makes you feel more settled about your future – it’s worthwhile and I would definitely encourage getting involved”.
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Interested in this Reward? Learn more about the Medway Council Youth Service here.