Sujoud was willing to be uncomfortable on her path to independence.
“I’ve had a rough past and a rough life, too. Now I’m kind of working through everything. I got a job, I take care of myself, and I don’t expect anything from anyone. But I do love starting new things and changing things up.
When I met Rêve Academy’s executive director, she told me about the program and asked if I would ever be interested in it. So when the class for Rêve Academy became available at school, I said yes. That’s where I learned collaboration, how to design a website, how to conduct an interview.
Some of that was new—you learn a lot of stuff from Rêve Academy. I was confused because sometimes it was all over the place, but I figured, hey, that’s business. I wanted to learn more so I applied for the internship.”
I am…
// 15
// Sassy, a lover of fashion and cooking
// A student at Metro Heights Academy
I dream of…
// Becoming a nurse or psychologist
Posing with her first paycheck and working at the Social Justice Arts Festival with the Empower Me retail team.
She embodied the value of Empathy.
“You’re always learning something here and meeting new people. I think I‘ve grown the most in talking with people—collaboration, cooperation, that has changed a lot. I usually stay away from people, but in this job a lot of people come in, so I actually have to interact with them.
I love helping people who don’t understand what’s going on. Telling them about it or showing someone around who happens to be new—that’s something that I really like.
I never thought that I would be in charge of something or leading people. I just do what needs to be done. If someone needs help, I help them out.”
Sujoud directing the packaging and shipping of Rêve Academy Retail products.
She tackled technology problems that she’d never seen before.
“I learned a lot about technology; stuff that I thought I would never be able to do or understand. When we started learning about Adobe Illustrator, it was so frustrating. But the more you learn, the more you get the hang of it, and the more you use it. And now I know how to use Illustrator perfectly fine. But there’s still stuff to learn!
Rêve Academy changes your life; it changes how you think. I’m a person who hates education, but here it’s different. It’s not like you’re sitting down and they’re teaching stuff—this is hands on and you learn as you do. We’re in charge.”
See the difference that Rêve Academy makes.
Sujoud gained both technical and professional skills in her internship—and she didn’t have to pay a cent. In fact, we paid her a fair wage for her work each week, while she learned:
Professional skills
// Empathy
// Authenticity
// Collaboration
// Achievement
// Ingenuity
// Agility
Technical skills
// Fusion 360
// MakerBot
// Illustrator
// Project management
// Agile development
Rêve Academy’s student interns of fall 2016.
Help students along their path.
If you have a heart for students, we have a place for you.
Become a digital volunteer and help our interns as they work on real-world projects. Or show our kids what an ordinary day looks like for a working professional. There are lots of ways to get involved, so don’t be shy—we can’t wait to meet you!