People who know Damika Jones would describe her as a go-getter. Someone with potential. Someone with ambition and drive to take what she was given in life and make something better for herself.

Damika has always been ambitious in her career goals but was unsure of how she could achieve what she wanted. She’d worked a series of small jobs, but never really found something that would lead to a career. She was working a few hours a week at UPS when she first saw a flier for the Manufacturing Careers Internship Program and became interested in MCIP. She quickly realized that there were much better opportunities for her with this program than she’d get with her part-time job at UPS, so she quit and dedicated the next four weeks of her life to attending boot camp and elevating her resume, interview, and job readiness skills. She convinced a friend to attend the boot camp with her, but he quickly dropped out. She didn’t let this deter her—she became more steadfast and committed to the program. She would wake up early each day to take one bus to another bus, just to get from her house to the church where the boot camp was held. She worked hard, always asking questions on employer site visits and putting her best foot forward.

At the end of boot camp, Damika was ready to work. She was assigned to an internship at Mifab where she had to take a late start, due to a family emergency.  She came back a week later, ready to go for her six-week internship. At Mifab, she arrived to work on time every day as she learned Pick and Pack, assembly, and even got the chance to do some shipping and receiving. She received the highest praise from her site supervisor, who praised her ability to learn quickly and her desire to be trained in different areas. She wanted to absorb as much as possible during her internship, not staying just in the warehouse, but she also wanted to learn the computer system and maybe even some desk work.

At the end of her six-week internship, Mifab did not want to let her go, but they had to. They were not currently hiring, but they stated that they would take her in a heartbeat as soon as something opened up. Damika did not let this bother her—she took the remaining time of her internship and made the most of it. She asked her site supervisor to review and critique her resume, and even asked him to conduct an exit interview with her. She asked him about what kinds of things he looks for when he’s hiring and what mistakes candidates often make during the application and interview process.

When the last days of her internship were closing in, Mifab caved. They offered her a position as a Shipping Clerk. Damika was so excited that all of her hard work had paid off.

At the same time, Damika was taking those skills that she learned—skills from the boot camp and skills she acquired at her internship—to do more. She applied for a full-time job at United Airlines as a Customer Service Representative and they hired her. Although she did not take the position that her internship site had eventually offered, she used the knowledge and skills she gained through the Manufacturing Careers Internship Program, as well as her “go-getter” attitude, to achieve what she wanted.