Connecting youth with local employment opportunities

Mary Yang has come full circle in her work at M Health Fairview.

She started at Fairview Health Services the summer after her first year of college, working in the human resources department through an internship facilitated by Fairview and Achieve Twin Cities. Now, Yang is a workforce community partnership specialist with M Health Fairview, helping support others in growing their own healthcare careers.

As a teenager, Yang was connected to Achieve Twin Cities, a local nonprofit that focuses on providing quality, equitable access to postsecondary education and career opportunities. Through Achieve Twin Cities, Yang connected with Fairview Heath Services first as a senior in high school seeking job experience.

“I had college plans, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do that summer after graduation,” she said. “The Achieve Career & College Readiness Center at my high school connected me to with the Step Up Youth Employment Program, then Fairview offered me an internship position within their human resources department.”

We are proud to have supported and worked with Achieve Twin Cities since it began over 20 years ago, to provide hands-on experience in the diverse field of healthcare.

Yang’s internship through the Step Up Youth Employment Program was with Laura Beeth, vice president of workforce partnerships with M Health Fairview, on her workforce development team. Yang completed two internships on Beeth’s team before going on to explore her career path deeper after college. After a few years, Yang realized she wanted to return to M Health Fairview – so she reached back out to Beeth.

“Through Step Up, I learned how to keep connections with professionals,” said Yang. “Laura connected me with the recruiting team, and I came back doing outreach scheduling.”

Since her return in 2016, Yang has worked in various recruitment and partnership roles throughout HealthEast and now M Health Fairview.

“It’s been amazing to watch Mary go through her career and life pathways from completing high school, graduating from college, getting married, having her first child, and proudly watching her grow in her career,” said Beeth.

What is Achieve Twin Cities

Since its founding, Achieve Twin Cities has provided equity-focused career and college readiness services for over 80,000 students. It manages career and college readiness centers in over 25 Minneapolis and Saint Paul public high schools, offering personalized guidance and resources for more than 18,000 students each year.

Achieve Twin Cities also offers two internship programs. The Step Up Youth Employment Program, which Yang participated in, provides Minneapolis youth with paid internships, work readiness training, online career exploration, and mentoring in support of a diverse, equitable workforce. Step Up is a collaboration between Achieve Twin Cities, the City of Minneapolis, community partners, and over 200 employers. Step Up has created over 31,000 internship opportunities since 2003.

The new Achieve College Internships program connects diverse college students with professional paid internships, training, and connections to help them launch their careers. Achieve Twin Cities also provides opportunities for students to connect with adult volunteers through career exploration events and annual mock interviews.  

These programs have had a proven impact. Youth who are low-income and/or part of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) communities who receive support through Achieve Twin Cities enroll in postsecondary programs at 79 percent and 69 percent higher rates respectively than those who do not. And Step Up interns are more likely to be ready for what comes after graduation, with nearly 95 percent reporting that their internships provided valuable learning experiences.

This year, M Health Fairview hosted four paid high school internships and one paid college internship. Three members of M Health Fairview also volunteered for mock interviews, providing coaching and feedback for interns as they prepared for summer career opportunities.

“Providing an internship for a local student through Step Up can be life changing,” said Beeth. “The relationship of mentor and mentee is rewarding for both parties as they learn from each other.”

Yang credits Step Up with preparing her for the career she has now and helping her find rewarding work.

“I did Step Up as a high school student and now, many years later, I work in the human resources department doing something I love,” said Yang. “You never know where it may lead you. It led me to a great career.”