Hi! My name is Abdikarim Said and I am a CPED intern working with Zoning Administration. This is my first year with the STEP-UP program. Next fall, I will be a junior at STEP Academy, a small school in Inner Grove Heights. I’m a 16 year old Somali-American born in Minneapolis, but raised mainly in the suburbs. I’m trilingual - I’m fluent in English, Somali, and Arabic. I have a lot time to decide what I want to be, but I think I have my mind set. I want to become a structural engineer. I’ve always wanted to become an engineer, and now, this internship has helped me see that it’s the right step for me.

In my free time, I’m either at the YMCA playing basketball, or I’m in my room watching television. I also love to hang out with my friends, but we usually just play basketball together, since that is how we all met each other. My favorite shows are Teen Wolf, Graceland, and Suits. I plan on hopefully going back on vacation to Somalia later on this year or next summer.

This summer, I had the chance to work with CPED as a STEP-UP Intern for Sok Silaphet, a Senior City Planner with Long Range Planning. My role is data entry and scanning files. I also had the opportunity to work and attend meetings with CPED’s Principal Urban Designer, Shelby Lacy.

I was born in Nairobi, Kenya but grew up in Cairo, Egypt. I came to the U.S. when I was 14 years old. This fall, I will be a senior at Southwest High School with plans to attend the University of Minnesota to study Computer Science.

In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer and basketball with my friends. Travelling around the world at a young age allowed me to find interest in learning new languages and cultures. I currently speak four languages – Somali, English, Swahili, and Arabic – and plan to learn Spanish as a fifth. 

I am Hispanic-American. My parents are from Guatemala, but my siblings and I are from the US. I just recently graduated from Roosevelt High School in June 2015 and plan on going off to college in August 2015. I’ve always been very independent and like doing things on my own. I started off with my first job at age 14 through STEP-UP in 2011 in a daycare center. I enjoy work that pushes me to my limits and gives me a satisfying challenge. At the moment, I work for the City of Minneapolis in downtown through STEP-UP. I have a passion for being classic and professional. Because of STEP-UP, I am able to gain more professional skills and have better communication skills. With everyone’s help around me I get more experience meeting and talking to new people.

Last June marked my first full year with the City as an intern with CPED Operations and Innovation. Operations has prepared me not only for the workforce, but for college as well. As a full-time Post-Secondary student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) and a senior-to-be at South High School, CPED has significantly improved my communication and writing skills. Because of my supervisor’s, Rose Lindsay, flexibility with my work hours, I was able to complete my first year of college. I’ll be graduating high school and college spring 2016 with plans to transfer to a four-year institution.

Outside of school and work, I love to travel, sing, play sports, and model. Last November, I traveled to Washington D.C. for a conference with my mother and younger sister, Nancy. We walked around National Mall and had a great time. It was a remarkable experience.

Hi! I’m Benjamin Pioquinto and this is my fourth year in STEP-UP. This year, I’m a CPED intern for Construction Code Services. I have had many new experiences here in the office. My goal is to look at the construction field from many different perspectives. Last year, I was an Intern with Kraus-Anderson. I’m planning to go to the U of M and becoming an Architect.

I’m going to be a senior at Roosevelt High school. I’m taking four International Baccalaureate (IB) classes. I have been in the school band since fourth grade and play five different instruments. My parents were both born in Mexico, but I was born in Chicago. I’m fluent in both Spanish and English. I like to work a lot and save my money. I bought my first BMW when I was 16; I sold it and bought another one when I turned 17. I also enjoy going out with friends and traveling. This year I’m traveling to five different places, and next year I’m going to Paris.

Hi! My name is Fardosa Kadar, and I am an intern at CPED multi-housing facility. I am heading into junior year.  My hobbies are reading, writing and doodling. My supervisor is Theresa Cunningham. She is an amazing supervisor who is caring and loves to think big. I learned that many people deeply care about the city we live in. They try their very hardest to make it a city of opportunity and development. I also worked with Cherie Shoquist with sharia-compliant housing.  My favorite part of this internship was being able to see all the projects CPED has done for the city. They try to eliminate the huge gap in race with housing. At CPED, you would see people from different ethnicities, backgrounds and race. I’d like to thank those staff for making this summer full of opportunity and success.  

I graduated from Southwest High school in June 2014. I attended MCTC through the PSEO program this past spring. I was adopted as an infant by a supportive mother. I enjoy playing video games, and the internet. At some point in the future (sooner rather than later), I wish to return to MCTC to complete my associate's degree in something with computers and then transfer to a university. During my work at CPED, I often walk to the Public Service center and City Hall to deliver or retrieve needed files. I do much of my work inside something called CRM, entering data and correcting data for STEP-UP jobs and interns. I also do little miscellaneous things like copying or faxing things. Through my internship here at STEP-UP with CPED, I hope to gain more discipline in my life.

I am a young, inspiring teen who wants to pursue a career in human services in a marriage and family therapist field so I could work with families. STEP-UP is a very enriching program that helped benefit me for the best quality for success, which has provided me with the tools for work which helps me in the workforce , like office skills, communication skills, customer service skills, and more, which is very empowering to youth like me. I plan on attending college after graduating from Robbinsdale Cooper High School in 2017. I will be in student council, the link crew, and I have done two years of dancing. I like going to coffee shops, also going shopping with my friends, and writing poetry.  

Hello, my name is Sumaya Mohamed and I am a STEP-UP Intern at CPED Long Range Planning. This fall, I will be attending the University of Minnesota to further my education in the criminal justice field. My hobbies are reading, writing poetry, and kickboxing. My supervisor is Sok Silaphet, and he is truly a great mentor. He has been with the City for 20+ years and is incredibly  great at his job. This year while working with CPED, I learned a lot about urban design and how much thought and effort goes into making the city look as vibrant and beautiful as it does. My favorite part is getting to be involved in projects that involve areas where I live by and seeing it all come together. I would truly like to thank the staff for this amazing experience and for being such kind people.