A Month with Marketing: The Endless Possibilities of The Summer Youth Employment Program
At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, summer internships are unique experiences. Provided by the Summer Youth Employment Program through Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families, the internships come in all shapes and sizes, placing students everywhere from clinical settings to engineering.
When high school seniors Ja’Marre Guinn and Ma'Kye Mitchell were accepted into the program, they weren’t sure what to expect. After all, neither student intends to enter the medical field.
Ja’Marre studies videography and filmmaking at Fort Hayes Career Center. Although he’s drawn to storytelling, he’s also interested in documentary-style filmmaking and interviewing, because as he says, “The person is the story.”
Ma’Kye studies business and graphic design at Eastmoor Academy and already has an Adobe Photoshop certification. Ma’Kye dreams of someday starting a small business that benefits Ohioans. “I see people struggling and my heart – it makes me hurt. I want to find a way to help,” he says.
With these talents and interests in mind, it’s no surprise these young men were placed with the Nationwide Children’s Marketing and Public Relations department.
Since 2021, the Summer Youth Employment Program has supported more than 300 paid interns who have been hosted by over 70 departments across the organization. The benefits of this program are enormous: Community youth get a chance to learn about diverse career opportunities, discover what kinds of work they enjoy and make connections with potential mentors. Plus, hospital teams get to see their work from a new perspective and reflect on their community impact.
The Marketing and Public Relations team kept the interns busy during their four-week stint. Ja’Marre and Ma’Kye had informational interviews with different teams in the department, attended photoshoots and video shoots, got a behind-the-scenes look at graphic design projects, fulfilled orders for promotional items, completed social media research on other children’s hospitals and wrote personal reflections about their experiences.
Ja’Marre enjoyed accompanying video producer Gretchen Walsh and videographers Andy Miller and Ray Tam on a shoot. Ma’Kye appreciated learning about the hospital’s visual brand and color palette from graphic designers Jessica Stitts and Joseph Wayand.
Both young men also enjoyed a comprehensive walking tour of the hospital campus with Daryl Barker, senior account manager and the department’s resident tour guide. “My feet hurt by the end,” Ma’Kye said, “but it was cool.”
While Ja’Marre and Ma’Kye’s internships ended as of July 3, the time they spent with the Marketing and Public Relations team had a big impact. In his personal reflection, Ja’Marre wrote, “I have experienced such warmth from these people… it would have been easy to shove me off in some corner of the building somewhere, but they didn't.” Ma’Kye picked up on the One Team ethos: “From the moment I arrived for orientation, I could tell that everyone here has the same goal of helping kids and their families.” They both expressed that they liked the idea of combining their technical skills with a mission that helps people.
When asked if they would like to participate in the Summer Youth Employment Program next year, both young men said yes without hesitation. With that mindset, they not only have bright futures ahead, but they also offer a powerful reminder that regardless of what job we perform, we are One Team with one mission.
Published August 2025
