Author: Tia Felton

Young Sisters, a review by a young woman.

Posted on by Tia Felton

Young Sisters tells the stories of several young ladies from different backgrounds through their own words.  Author Anna Leung grew up in a traditional Chinese household.  She was very active as a child piano and karate lessons, Chinese school, church, and community service.  She soon found a natural love in the field of photography.  Working in the field of photography she repeatedly saw how women were being portrayed in the media as sexual objects and didn’t agree. 

This inspired her to put together the book Young Sisters to express the true feelings of real young women.

I was introduced to this book when Anna met my colleague, Lisa, at an event for Fair Fund about sex trafficking and told her about the book.  Lisa asked me for my thoughts on the book from the perspective of a young woman, and then I met with her and Anna to talk about her hopes for how the book could help young women in the D.C. area.

The contents of the book are very informative and interesting.  It includes several stories speaking of young females overcoming eating disorders, having positive influences from family members, dealing with misleading images of women in the media, relationships, losing love ones, being different, and following your dreams.

The book can be very helpful to other young ladies going through the same situations to see how others deal with them in their own way.

Tia Felton is a senior at McKinley Tech High School and an intern at The Women’s Foundation through Urban Alliance. When she graduates from high school this year, she will go to college to study political science and hopes to eventually to become a lawyer.

To learn more about the Urban Alliance internship program, click here.

A young woman's take on a new America…

Posted on by Tia Felton

Since the presidential election all you see is change and more change. The nation has had an urgent need for change because of our new president, Barack Obama. You can really see change in people’s attitudes around the country and how they portray themselves as Americans. 

People are now actually proud to be American, a label that some have been ashamed to wear.  Now, that country that was one laughed upon as being selfish, spoiled and very overweight is the same country now pushing those selfish ways aside and making a change for the greater good.

I, too, felt proud to be an American for the first time. 

For most of my life, American has simply been the country were I was born; but there have been no real feeling behind it for me.  Yet, while I was watching the inauguration on television that day, there was a smile on my face the entire time and I didn’t realize it. 

To watch something that people have only joked about for years actually happen in front of your face is wonderful.

I have seen houses throughout the Washington area decorated in red white and blue, something you wouldn’t even see here on the Fourth of July. 

On January 20, 2009, the whole country celebrated.  In fact, other countries even celebrated with us.

It was a truly joyful moment for all.  I still can’t tell you exactly what it means to be an American, but I can tell you that right now, being one feels very good.

Tia Felton is a senior at McKinley Tech High School and an intern at The Women’s Foundation through Urban Alliance. When she graduates from high school this year, she will go to college to study political science and hopes to eventually to become a lawyer.

To learn more about the Urban Alliance internship program, click here.

Help from community inspires improvement in college essays.

Posted on by Tia Felton

Last Friday, several District of Columbia students, myself included, filed onto the 8th floor of the Watergate building.  We were all interns with The Urban Alliance Foundation, and were there to get professional help from newspaper editors, lawyers, and other successful people, including my mentor Lisa Kays, on our college essays.

It is routine and mandatory that each Friday afternoon all interns attend a workshop class.  During this time, we are informed of events, discuss events that have happened during the work week, and are educated about key things to know when working in a professional environment and also that you will need throughout life–such as professional attire, how to use technology and managing money and bank accounts.

Since interns are seniors in high school, we have also been focusing a lot on college and making plans, setting goals and working to reach those goals.  We have been discussing applications and different scholarships that are available for us to receive.  Over the last few weeks, we have been drafting our college essay.

The dreadful college essay that most of us fear.  The one thing that is going to set you aside from hundreds of thousands of other applicants applying to the same school.

There have been several editors and writers who have come in and talked to the classes as a whole about writing our essays.  But on Friday, everyone received that one-on-one attention that they needed. 

We were paired up with a professional and then sat in a quiet area where we could focus and really think.

It was very helpful to get this sort of help. Little things that you might not catch, another person will, and it is those little things that can make a writing piece excellent. 

It was a very successful event.  No one was rude or judgmental towards anyone’s writing.  They were only helpful in as many ways possible.

In the end, every last intern walked away with a sense of confidence that they can write an excellent essay, and that it is going to get them into the college of their choosing.

Tia Felton is a senior at McKinley Tech High School and an intern at The Women’s Foundation through Urban Alliance–a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.  When she graduates from high school this year, she hopes to go to college and eventually to become a lawyer.

To learn more about the Urban Alliance internship program, click here.

Cuts in jobs available to Urban Alliance internship program hits home for me.

Posted on by Tia Felton

When I saw Philip Rucker’s piece, "Economy Slices into Internship Programs," in the Washington Post, it really hit home for me.  I’m currently an intern with Urban Alliance (also a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation), and I saw the impact of the economic downturn on the program firsthand.

By joining the Urban Alliance foundation during the summer of my junior year, I became one of the lucky ones promised a job.  My summer days were spent working full time in one of the offices owned by Sonnenschein Law firm. The experience was wonderful and the pay not only pleased me, but also my mother, who could spend her earnings on other household necessities without worrying about having to set aside funds for my own personal summer activities.

When the last day of summer work came to an end, I was informed that I would begin my fall internship mid-September.  But, somehow between mid-August and the time the time I was supposed to resume work, troubles began. 

Weeks continued to go by throughout the fall, and as I saw new interns with their starting dates and job sites, I realized that I still did not receive mine.  Finally, I received a call saying that I should report to Washington Area Women’s Foundation at 2:00 p.m. on November 10, 2008–two months after what my initial start date was meant to be.

While reading the Washington Post article suggested to me by my mentor, Lisa Kays, at The Women’s Foundation, I later found out that the reason for my delayed job site was not only due to poor organization skills, but also the economy’s falling.  I was one of the lucky ones who was promised and job and actually received one.

Several students were turned down from the organization after months of training because businesses in the Washington area simply cannot afford interns. Fannie Mae, which is where several of my peers worked this summer, took on no interns this fall season.  I know this internship meant a lot to the students, especially with the overwhelming expenses of senior year: class fees, trips, prom, spending funds, and other items that express school spirit like year books, hoods, shirts, etc.

During this time every little cent counts.

Being a part of the Urban Alliance family, above anything else, has given me great experiences, memories and opportunities.  I have had the chance to work in bigger office spaces where you e-mail more to communicate, and I have also had the chance to work in smaller office spaces where people are more warming to you, which is where I am currently working now.

I know that both experiences will help me through my college years and also my working years.

I am very thankful to have been chosen for this, and only wish that those who were not could have experienced it as well.  It is truly a shame that they could not.

Tia Felton is a senior at McKinley Tech High School and an intern at The Women’s Foundation through Urban Alliance.  When she graduates from high school this year, she hopes to go to college and eventually to become a lawyer.

To learn more about the Urban Alliance internship program, click here.