Mercy Works at the Clarence Jordan Vision Center

💥Thank you Sponsors and Supporters!!💥 The impact of the Synergy Leadership Development Internship extends far beyond one summer—and that impact begins with the generosity of those who believe in our mission.

To our sponsors and supporters, THANK YOU for investing in opportunities that prepare young people for successful futures. Your commitment made it possible for students to participate in leadership development experiences, career readiness training, professional networking, mentorship, community engagement, and hands-on learning that will shape their lives for years to come.

Your partnership is more than financial support. It is an investment in people, in possibility, and in the future of our workforce and community.

Thank you for believing in what is possible when we work together to develop the next generation of leaders.

Mercy Works at the Clarence Jordan Vision Center

Most high school and college students transitioning into adulthood do not know how to grab opportunities. They prefer to be given opportunities rather than taking them, but that mindset shifted when Juh-anna Rogers, PhD, a Senior Executive on Community Impact, Race and Equity Expert, led them through a critically intense workshop on creating opportunities for themselves. Through this workshop, interns were challenged to put themselves out there, consciously stand out, and persistently create opportunities.

Since our emotions can sometimes convey accurate information about our bodies when words and logic fail, they should not be allowed to take the driver's seat in our lives. The reason is that unregulated emotion can derail one's progress. This past week, the Synergy interns were taught by Pastor John Carter, Chair of Mercy Works, and Toni Demoff, Restorative Practices and Behavior Specialist, on emotional responsibility and strategies for controlling their emotions.

Have you ever heard of escapism? It is the tendency to disconnect and detach from difficult situations. Although it has its positives, it can also numb one to facing and tackling life situations. Here in the Synergy program, we discourage interns from embracing escapism. Instead, we encourage them through civic engagement discourse and projects to face the difficult reality. Particularly, they are encouraged to conduct research on community problems and use their knowledge and collaborative expertise to develop solutions to those problems.

These pictures capture the moment when they presented their creative problem-solving ideas to community leaders for constructive feedback. We want to appreciate our judges: Marie Fagan, REACH Food Distributions; Harry Patterson, Fellowship of Christian Athletes; and Sheena Solomon, Gifford Foundation, for their immeasurable support in serving as judges and shaping our interns.

There can be no holistic growth without financial literacy. Money is a social currency, and understanding how it works and grows is important for survival and refined living. In this light, the Synergy interns were taught wealth accumulation and investment planning by Mr. Michael Jennings, a wealth consultant at Bracken Solutions Network, LLC.

Did you know that you are a walking brand? You build your brand every day as you walk, talk, and interact with people. Brand building is not restricted to social media alone, but also occurs in unmediated and offline spaces.

Through the “Personal Branding” workshop led by Laiza Semidey, an NYS MWBE-certified strategy and business development consultant, Synergy interns learned to intentionally own their brand by Showing Up and Standing Out both online and in person.

Coaching is invaluable to everyone's developmental process. As the Synergy interns brainstorm ideas and conduct research for their civic projects, they are guided by Dr. Tanya Eastman, who has over 25 years of experience in workforce development and capacity building, asking questions that prompt critical thinking about the projects and their feasibility.

The season of impacting our community through active investment in our youth is upon us yet again. MercyWorks’ new cohort of interns are being trained in necessary topics for ethical professionalism.

This past week, the interns were taught implicit social expectations, a timely topic for today’s world. Have you ever been in a situation where you were expected to act in a specific way, even though no one exposed you to that “rule”? Yes, that is exactly what these interns learned.

As professionals who are trying to navigate new organizational settings, it is important for them to be in the known of some of these unspoken expectations and how to work around them when the need arise.