Action Items

• Workplace learning is back! AEF hosted thirty students for a two-day DC career and cultural Backyard Bound field trip. 
  
  
• Your experience is valuable. Share it with a DC student by hosting a Career Ready Intern. Sign up for this free summer program at no cost to the host employer. 
  
  
• AEF Student Advisory Board members gave their early career insights at the Durable Skills Conference. Their feedback will inform educators about soft skills and workplace behaviors that set students up for success. See more from our alumni.  

After three years, AEF is proud to welcome back the return of the Backyard Bound overnight field trip. Thirty students from DC's Academies of Hospitality & Tourism, Culinary Arts and Mass Media participated in a two-day field trip across DC.

These partners helped students see both the consumer and professional sides of the hospitality industry. A special thank you to:

• Grand Hyatt Washington
• The Duck & The Peach and Eastern Point Collective
• Carmine’s Italian Restaurant
• Georgetown Men’s Basketball
• Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
• Monumental Sports
• Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
• Washington Auto Show

“It was exciting to be a part of exposing my younger classmates to different careers in the hospitality industry and expanding their understanding of what the future could hold. I also learned a lot about my own future opportunities.”

Declan Bianchi, Senior, Jackson-Reed Academy of Hospitality and Tourism & AEF Year-Round Intern 2023

Durable Skills is how you use what you know. This includes critical thinking, creativity, communication and character skills like leadership, resiliency and growth mindset.

Zoe Roberts, Cayla Lewis and Diamond Hunter are DC high school Hospitality & Tourism alumni and Destination DC employees. They were recruited to share their early career perspectives at a joint conference of America Succeeds (a nonprofit education advocacy organization) and CompTIA (an IT trade association).

Their feedback will inform nationwide high school career and technical education curriculum and evaluation tools to create consistent standards across the country.

Looking for help this summer? Enlist a Career Ready Intern!

The Career Ready Internship program provides emerging young professionals the opportunity to receive skills training and guidance from leading industry professionals over the summer.

• As a fully paid opportunity by the DC Department of Employment Services, hosting an intern comes at no cost to the employer. 
• The students are high school juniors and seniors studying Hospitality & Tourism, Culinary Arts, Mass Media & Communications and Information Technology (IT).
• Students work 20-25 hours per week for six weeks (June 25 – Aug. 4). We are seeking in-person and hybrid internship opportunities.
  
  

Everyone’s favorite friendly competition returns. Join the DDC Member Volleyball Tournament to Benefit AEF – Feb. 17 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Special thanks to our partners at the Capitol Hill Volleyball Classic and Events DC for supporting students through this event.

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