Action Items

• Get Involved: Meet the 2024 Career Ready Intern cohort and volunteer to be a presentation judge. 
  
  
• Sign up to host your own high school intern during the 2024-2025 school year. Deadline Aug. 9.
  
  
• Thank you to attendees, event and prize partners for a wonderful July 4th VIP Celebration that helped raise $60,000 to support students! 
  
  
• Join AEF in welcoming two new members to the Board of Directors.
  
  
• See DC scholars shine bright at SkillsUSA's National Leadership & Skills Conference, which featured more than 6,000 state champions from across the United States this past June.

AEF and Destination DC (DDC) welcome high school interns to the team for six weeks this summer. Through the Career Ready Internship program, young leaders will meet with hotels, restaurants, attractions and more across the hospitality industry as they experience “There’s Only 1 DC.”

Welcome:

• Asly Argueta Benitez, Coolidge High School
• Christian Osbourne, Ballou High School
• Mista Barnes, Maya Angelou Public Charter School
• Nealia Williams, Coolidge High School
• Valerie Benitez, Jackson- Reed High School
• Zion Campell, Ballou High School

Looking to get involved? Each week interns present on DC tourism industry topics. AEF is seeking judges to provide constructive feedback through Aug. 2.

Working with the cohort this year is AEF intern alumni and two-time AEF scholarship winner Mattison McDonald. She attends Washington & Jefferson College and is studying public policy with a minor in marketing.

“I have been interning with AEF and DDC for three years. I love the environment and the work ethic of the organization. I’m pleased to be a part of the team again and look forward to helping high school interns find the place where they feel the most comfortable while also expanding their knowledge of DC.”  - Mattison McDonald

Thank you to all who attended and participated in AEF’s 10^th annual July 4th celebration, raffle and silent auction. The evening was a huge success and raised $60,000! These funds are used to provide work-based learning, scholarship and career readiness resources to Academy of Hospitality & Tourism, Culinary Arts and Mass Media students across DC. 

Thank you to our long-time partners, the American Pharmacists Association, for hosting the event on the Potomac View Terrace, which provides the best view of the fireworks and monuments. AEF appreciates the generosity of its event partners:

• Hargrove from Encore
• Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association
• Honda of Chantilly
• NFP
• Revolution Events
• Ridgewells Catering
• El Tamarindo
• Encore

• Bialek's Music
• Here's The Scoop
• Smiley Jump Bounce House
• District Winery
• Right Proper Brewing Company
• Dez the Shoe Artist
• PMI Parking Garage
• Extraordinary Entertainment
• White House Nannies

Thank you to nearly 40 partners who also supported the raffle and auction.

Missed out on the event? You can still invest in the next generation of students.

AEF announces two new members to its Board of Directors. Join in welcoming:

• John Snedden, Owner, Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company
• Elif Sen, General Manager, Cambria Hotel Washington D.C. Navy Yard Riverfront

The team looks forward to their guidance and support throughout the year.

Thank you to our departing board members for their years of service:

• Thomas Penny, President, Donohoe Hospitality
• Nizam Ali, Chief Administrative Officer, Ben’s Chili Bowl

Help create meaningful opportunities for high school seniors in the Academies of Hospitality & Tourism, Culinary Arts and Mass Media throughout the year as they seek to gain experience in the hospitality industry.

Through the Advanced Internship Program, interns are paid through the city so there is no cost to your company. Internships are 8-12 hours per week and run from Nov. 4, 2024 – May 23, 2025.

Twenty students from DC Career and Technical Education programs attended and competed in the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, GA.

Fun fact: Every represented state has a pin each student wears proudly. Kwaliq McMillian, Ballou High School ‘25, created the Washington, DC pin design!

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