Two OHS students ready for MBK summer internship

Two Ossining High School former students have been selected to participate in a Research Internship this summer with My Brother’s Keeper Fellows Research Intensive.

Recent graduates Nicholas-Ajani Davis and John Jarama have been chosen among a select group of students to join in a six-week collaborative program with the CUNY-led New York State Education Department in a sponsored assessment of the MBK program. Interns are being offered an opportunity to share their experiences in the MBK program, conduct Participatory Action Research (PAR), as well as create oral history interviews and much more. Participants will spend two hours a day meeting via Zoom.

Nicholas said he joined the OHS MBK program on the advice of his AP World teacher. He was interested in participating in more clubs in his and thought the MBK might be interesting.

“The main thing I enjoy about MBK is the community around it and interacting with other students during meetings,” Nicholas, an MBK Fellow, said. “The conversations that we have on current events and just about our personal lives is great.”

Nicholas said he was required to fill out an application for the summer intern position.

“They selected Fellows based on their academics, their responses in the application, and their advisor’s recommendation,” he said.

“I am hoping to improve on my research skills through the internship and work on my data analysis skills,” Nicholas said of the summer program that begins June 28 and runs through Aug. 4. “I also hope to gain more experience working in groups and taking down notes while in meetings to help maintain information.”

This fall Nicholas will be attending SUNY Binghamton where he plans to study political science.

John joined MBK in ninth grade because he was interested in the open discussions and the rewarding experiences from the many trips afforded by the program.

“I think MBK has influenced me when it comes to how I talk to myself and learning to keep an open mind. This can be attributed to the conversations we had after school, which is what I enjoyed the most,” he said.

“It truly allowed me to feel that I was not alone when it came to certain matters, and that I should not give up on myself or my goals.”

John was recommended to the MBK Fellows Research Internship by MBK Ossining Coordinator Oumar Sarr, and hopes the experience will teach him new skills, reinforce existing ones, allow him to make new friends, and provide some fun before he goes off to Binghamton University in the fall.

“The MBK program has offered me many great opportunities and relationships, and for that, I am eternally grateful.”