Southeast Youth Workforce Development & Civic Engagement Program

The Southeast Fellows Program is a one-of-a-kind rigorous six-week, Monday thru Friday paid summer internship targeting high school residents ages 16-18 who are juniors and seniors in the 2023-2024 academic school year. The Summer 2024 program aims to create an environment for collective problem-solving, soft skills development, conflict negotiation, team building, workforce career mentoring, and civic engagement tools. Over 80 Southeast Fellow Alumni have graduated from the CLLI summer program.

Ten Southeast Fellows will be selected via a competitive application from the six Southeast cities of Vernon, Cudahy, Maywood, Bell, Huntington Park (Including Walnut Park), and South Gate.

The application Round 1 is the submission of written essays. Applications are reviewed and scored by a diverse panel of readers. The top 15% of the application pool will be invited to continue to Round 2, a 30-minute in-person interview. Once selected, each Southeast Fellow is provided with an individual tool kit that they keep after fellowship graduation ($1500 value), which includes: one laptop computer, computer bag, (Microsoft) computer operating system, maintenance service for one-year, digital headshot, two custom team uniform shirts, a personal binder with reading materials, team book, “The Gorilla Mindset” by Mike Cernovich and paid a stipend of ($1,000). Each Fellow will gain real-life work experience from a summer placement within a Southeast community agency. For many teens, this is their first employment experience.

The Program’s goals and objectives will:

• Provide a long-term workforce leadership development pathway that is sustainable for youth;

• Support civic engagement and empower students to grow, closing the career opportunity gap and becoming productive members of society; and

 • Inspire positive, energized ethical change within the Southeast community via the Southeasts Fellows Alumni Association.

2023 Southeast Fellowship Program