We are incredibly lucky this summer to be working with five talented young Holyokers! Besides staffing our retail shop and helping in our production shop, they are also completing an entrepreneurship and design project we offer as part of our ArteSana Youth Studio program. Scroll down to read a brief bio they each wrote and to learn more!
Left to right: Lakeysha Heredia, Kaisha Serrano, Jedediah Arrocho, Jayden Moquin and Elisamuel Ramirez. My name is Lakeysha, I'm 14. I like make up. My favorite kind of music is 80s music and Billie Eilish. One thing I like so far about my summer job at Paper City Clothing Company is how you get to do what you want.
My name is Kaisha I just turned 16, I will be a junior next year at Holyoke High School. My favorite band is BTS and I love dancing to any kind of music. One thing I like so far about my summer job at Paper City Clothing Company is how everyone is so hardworking and kind to each other.
Ok so my name is Jedediah, I'm currently 14 years old. I graduated 8th grade this year and now I'm going in to 9th grade at Dean Tech. I'm interested in cosmetology, culinary. I am a very fast learner too. One thing I like so far about Paper City Clothing Co is the great team work and that everyone is so kind and understanding. My name is Jayden, I am 16 years old, I've always lived in Holyoke and next year I'll be a junior at Holyoke High where I play on the football team. One thing I like so far about my summer job at Paper City Clothing Company is it's inspiring. My name is Elisamuel, I am 15 and I study at Holyoke High School. I like to play basketball. This is my second summer working at Paper City Clothing Company. One thing I like about working there is the opportunities you have.
Throughout July and August the youth are part of our team welcoming the community to our storefront, gallery, and events and also supporting our screen printing production operations. They're also working on an entrepreneurship project 4-6 hours each week which will culminate with each of them launching their own product later this summer - an original tee shirt!
Huge shout out to our partners for this summer youth program, MassHire YouthWorks and MassDevelopment TDI Creative Catalyst.