Opportunity is Priceless

“When I describe the T. Howard Foundation,” says Foundation president, Josephine Pamphile, “there are two phrases that are my favorites:  T. Howard is a small foundation with a huge mission and we don’t give money, we give opportunity.”

Pamphile believes that there couldn’t be a more critical time for the mission of the Foundation than now, given the challenging economy and job market. With the unemployment rate at 16.7% for African Americans—the highest since 1984—and at 11.3% for Hispanics, as compared to the national average of 9%, the mission to increase diversity in the multimedia and entertainment industry is both meaningful and valuable.

The Foundation’s mission to diversify the multimedia and entertainment industry is accomplished through its comprehensive internship program.  Program staff recruits, screens, and selects minority students from colleges and universities across the country for paid internships in the multimedia industry.  It’s a very competitive process and only the most talented students qualify. Once selected by a company, interns participate in an intensive 2½-day orientation that addresses everything from a 30 second “elevator pitch” to dressing for success to corporate expectations. Senior level executives from top media companies volunteer their time to share their knowledge and expertise with the new interns.

Another objective of the orientation is to ensure that the internship experience is beneficial and successful for both the interns and their host companies. Beyond that, to continue making the entire process relevant and valuable, the Foundation collects and carefully reviews evaluations from interns and their supervisors as a way to quantify the program’s success. The Foundation staff is encouraged not only by the positive evaluations, but by the fact that media partners hired 23 interns in 2010 and 15 thus far this year.

Full- time, paid internships provided by host companies give T. Howard interns an invaluable professional work experience. It gives them a distinct advantage in a highly competitive marketplace. “It is an opportunity that interns like Francesca Amiker, for example, find truly priceless,” says Pamphile. [Read more about Francesca in this issue.]