Increasing College & Career-Readiness through Media Internships
In the Mid South, one of the biggest hurdles facing youth is a lack of college and career readiness. When students are well-prepared and encouraged to pursue a higher education or career, they gain a more solid footing for their financial future, bolster the local economy, and begin to break the generational cycle of poverty. Still, many Mid Southern students lack the skills and knowledge they need to find success in college and career.

We know that traditional education systems are not the only avenue to developing a solid foundation for future success. Programs and internships that offer hands on, relevant material that engages students and push them to expand their thinking is not only beneficial for their lives, but their communities.
With this in mind, the Jackson Free Press partnered with Foundation for the Mid South to launch the Youth Media Project.

Growing Employable Skills & Critical Thinking
The Youth Media Project began its expanded pilot program this year. Through the Jackson Free Press, participants learned not only how to be better writers, but how to address the issues facing youth in their communities and challenge how the media portrays youth in Mississippi.
The Youth Media Project teaches students valuable, employable skills for the future while also encouraging students to think critically about important issues and how the media reports them: and how those, in turn, affect the people they know and love.

How the Youth Media Project Works
The program lasts for 10 weeks and includes a detailed curriculum that includes two personal projects and a group project. Each week, student interns ages 13-18 work on a wide range of stories and topics that are relevant to youth culture.
The staff at Jackson Free Press works alongside these youth so that they can best communicate and report on their topics. This professional insight is part of what makes internship programs like the Youth Media Project so valuable: it’s real, hands-on, and immediately applicable.
Participants are also published in a special Youth Media Project column in the Jackson Free Press. These articles written by students cover topics as light as prom night and rappers to heavier, nuanced subjects like race relations.
In addition to developing writing and literacy skills alongside professional journalists, these students:
Engage with mentors
Develop professional skills for college & career
Receive financial literacy training
Plan a roadmap for their short and long-term goals
Build an employment value system
Foundation for the Mid South, in addition to providing seed funding for the program, directed financial literacy training and aided in career-readiness and goal-setting. By the end of the program, students are better prepared for college and career, have real work experience to draw from, are engaged in learning, and can more effectively advocate for community well-being.
Giving Jackson Youth a Voice

Teenagers often find themselves without a voice. When they have difficulty in properly expressing themselves, it leads to frustration and feelings of isolation. It also perpetuates the misconception that they are ill-informed or unintelligent. The Youth Media Project empowers youth to find their voice and communicate effectively, both verbally and in the written word. Through these skills, youth become more engaged in the issues that affect their communities and can articulate informed, thoughtful opinions. This engages students in the world around them in a way that has impact. The Future of the Youth Media Project

After a successful pilot program in this year, the Jackson Free Press plans to expand next year to involve more Mississippi youth. The Youth Media Project will continue to engage students in pathways to college and career for years to come.