An interview with Marie, CMY Youth Intern 2024-25
What did you get out of your time as a Youth Intern?
Being a Youth Intern at CMY has been invaluable in terms of how much I’ve gained in this role. I feel like I’m coming out of this role with a lot more confidence than I started with, at least in and around the workplace. Especially in the context of talking with new people, how I carry myself in new environments, and having to lead projects or facilitate workshops. Outside of this though, I’ve gained some awesome friendships and connections through CMY, both professionally throughout the sector and personally in the office.
What was the biggest lesson you learnt in the role?
I joke about this a lot since I’m always down for a chat, but it’s surprisingly true. The biggest lesson I learnt in this role is learning how to be comfortable being social and making connections in and out of CMY. I feel as if I’ve made leaps and bounds in terms of my conversational and networking skills. It’s helped me grow both as a young person and as a youth worker, and it was definitely not a lesson I was expecting to end this role having learnt – as it was never something I went out of my way to learn.
What do you want to do next?
I’d like to stay in the youth work sector, however I’m not quite sure what exactly. I always said I wanted to try to work in as many different youth work-centred jobs as I could, to learn as much as possible. This role has given me so much experience and has opened so many doors for me, so it really feels like all I need to do is find something that feels like the next step up.
What does CMY mean to you?
CMY and this role have been a really good stepping stone both for me, and any of the young people that pass through the organisation, whether that’s in a job or as a volunteer. I’d consider CMY as an organisation that young people are given the chance and the resources to grow and learn in. It is somewhere that prioritises making young people feel seen, heard, and engaged.
What issues affecting young people have you noticed in your role?
Throughout my time in this role, I’ve noticed all sorts of issues affecting multicultural young people everywhere. However something I’ve noticed, which seems really specific, but it’s all of the volunteer and networking opportunities, and work readying programs that come through my inbox. It makes me think about how young people are struggling to start a career in an industry that excites them unless their tertiary education gets them a foot in a door that is already open.
To have these programs and opportunities set up is really communicating that the skills taught at university aren’t enough, or even no longer as valuable as having actual experience in the industry that you want to work in. That’s what I’ve noticed anyway.
What should CMY focus on?
In my experience working with CMY, I could see that their focus lies heavily in community value. I feel like CMY’s kind of everywhere at the moment, with all of their youth justice programs, support and mentoring programs, and focus on making sports more inclusive They should keep doing what they’re doing, CMY is really gunning for it now.
However, a piece of the puzzle I feel is missing is something focusing on young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds with disabilities. Yes, they’re an even smaller minority, and admittedly this is probably something for a specialist organisation to work on, but everything CMY does is always with the intention of representing young people and giving them a space to feel heard and seen. So who, if not CMY?
What tips would you give to the next Youth Intern?
Definitely be ready to give anything a go. Nothing comes to mind in my internship where I said I didn’t want to give something a go, as anxious as it felt to do it. This is the main thing I felt helped me get the most experience out of this role as I could have. I learnt a lot as a young person and as a new worker in the sector. I gained loads of experience, connections, and insight, which has been invaluable.
The Mary Danckert Internship is named after CMY’s Youth Support Manager who worked at CMY from 2005-2013. It was established to reflect Mary’s passion and commitment to supporting young people. It is designed to provide young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds with hands-on work experience in the not-for-profit sector and nurture the development of their skills, networks and capacity.