{"id":948862,"date":"2026-07-18T12:31:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/948862\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T12:31:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:31:07","slug":"for-many-new-orleans-teens-the-hardest-part-of-summertime-work-is-getting-in-the-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/948862\/","title":{"rendered":"For many New Orleans teens, the hardest part of summertime work is getting in the door"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every summer, New Orleans teens look for jobs to earn money, build experience and help support their families. But this year, many are seeing that getting hired is harder than expected.<\/p>\n

The competition facing young workers is not unique in New Orleans. Across the country, millions of teens and young adults enter the workforce once school ends, increasing competition for seasonal jobs.<\/p>\n

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Americans ages 16 to 24 hovered around 9% in June.<\/p>\n

YouthForce NOLA, one of the city\u2019s largest career-ready initiatives, works to connect students with paid internships and workplace experiences. But as more young people look for opportunities, demand continues to exceed the number of available spots.<\/p>\n

YouthForce NOLA could only accept 288 applicants out of over 500 applicants.<\/p>\n

Story Baquet, YouthForce NOLA\u2019s Director of Internships, says many students often enter the program looking for income, but they leave with skills and experiences that can shape their future.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aIt’s about getting that check, but also ensuring that you’re getting an experience that is going to lead you to more consistent checks,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy Nate Barron\/YouthForce NOLA<\/p>\n

A YouthForce NOLA fellow is filmed conducting an interview during the 2026 Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

Baquet said many students are also searching for exposure to careers they may not have considered before. The internship serves as a first introduction to the professional world and helps them explore potential career paths.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aThey\u2019re looking for opportunity. They’re looking for exposure. They’re looking to see what they like and what they don’t like,\u2019 Baquet said.<\/p>\n

For some students, rejection has become part of the process. Ty Berfect, YouthForce NOLA fellow, said rejection can be discouraging.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting rejected from something you want is heartbreaking,\u201d Berfuct said. <\/p>\n

\"YouthForce<\/p>\n

YouthForce NOLA fellows Johana Nunez (left) and Ty Berfect (center), and YouthForce NOLA senior director of development and communications Tori McRoberts Hoffpauir (right) pose for a photo inside the New Orleans Saints Indoor Practice Facility in Metairie, Louisiana, on July 14, 2026. Berfuct is the communications and relations intern for the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. <\/p>\n

Baquet says YouthForce NOLA works to ensure students have options, even if they\u2019re not selected to move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aWhen you get your rejection, it’s not just a, \u2018No thanks, you weren’t a good fit.\u2019 It’s, \u2018You weren’t a good fit, but here are some other options,\u2019\u201d Baquet said. \u201cWe’re really committed to ensuring that students across the city in our public schools are aware of what’s available to them in the summertime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expanding access to these opportunities, Baquet said, is important because New Orleans has the talent to build its own future.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI want everybody to know about the potential in New Orleans,\u201d she said. \u201cI want everybody to tap into the potential that’s in New Orleans, and I also want our students and our interns \u2014 and we tell them this all the time \u2014 to stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every summer, New Orleans teens look for jobs to earn money, build experience and help support their families.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":948863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[7,896,55,2572,2571,6,397],"class_list":["post-948862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-orleans-saints","tag-football","tag-new-orleans","tag-new-orleans-saints","tag-neworleans","tag-neworleanssaints","tag-nfl","tag-saints"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116940996222078465","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/948863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}