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From YouTube: What's Up AVL! – Episode 14
Description
This week in What's Up AVL!, host Sam Parada talks with Alex Mitchiner, Workforce Development Programs Coordinator for the City of Asheville. Alex works very closely with the City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA), a program for high schoolers to gain valuable work experiences and opportunities that will stay with them for life. Listen in and learn more about CAYLA!
B
Good
afternoon
asheville
and
welcome
to
what's
up
asheville
wres
radio
100.7
fm
a
radio
show
discussing
projects
and
initiatives
of
the
city
of
asheville.
I
am
your
host
sam
ferrata
communication
and
public
engagement,
specialist
with
the
city,
and
today
I
want
to
talk
about
the
city's
kayla
program
and
for
that
sitting
with
me
is
alex
mitchener
and
she
is
the
workforce.
Development
programs
coordinator,
hi
alex
hi.
C
C
C
Kayla
is
a
program
that
started
in
2007
that
came
from
city
council's
grow,
your
own
initiative,
and
it
was
put
together
with
the
hopes
that
it
would
lay
the
foundation
for
young
people
in
buncombe
county
to
kind
of
get
their
feet
wet
in
the
workforce
and
kind
of
make
some
of
those
connections,
while
they're
very
young.
So,
ultimately,
you
know,
after
after
they
graduate
high
school.
C
B
C
So
they
technically
are
interns
and
they're
temporary
seasonal
employees
for
the
city,
so
they
do
a
little
bit
of
everything
each
of
our
internships
every
year
they
kind
of
change
based
on
what
our
students
are
currently
into
at
the
moment.
So
we
kind
of
deal
with
a
variety
of
different
departments.
So
sometimes
we
work
with
city
departments,
sometimes
county
departments,
and
we
pull
in
a
lot
of
local
businesses
as
well.
Just
so
our
students
can
see
that
entrepreneurship
is
a
way,
a
possible
sector
or
field
for
them
to
go
into
one
day.
That's.
B
C
C
A
C
B
Remembered
me,
and
they
hired
me,
so
you
did
come
back
and
you
had
the
foot
in
the
door
because
you
joined
kayla.
Yes,
I
think
that's
the
most
important
aspect
of
all
of
what
you're
doing
you
know
creating
giving
the
the
students
experience
connecting
them
with
the
city,
and
you
know,
organizations
around
the
city
and
then
just
paying
them
while
they're
learning
to
do
all
of
this.
It's
fantastic!
Thank
you
so
tell
me
about
recruiting.
You
know:
how
does
a
student
find
out
about
this
or
when,
where
can
they
apply?
Okay,.
C
C
C
C
B
C
Not
at
all,
so
we
want
everybody.
You
know
if
you
are
an
a
student,
that's
great
kudos
to
you.
You
know,
but
if
you're,
not
an
a
student,
if
you're
an
average
student,
if
you're
struggling
a
little
bit
and
you've
been
through
some
things,
we
want
everybody.
We
want
to
help,
give
you
that
extra
push
and
to
the
right
direction
to
give
you
the
support
to
make
you
that's
going
to
be
beneficial
for
you
in
the
long
run
and
help
you
be
successful.
A
A
C
C
B
C
C
Everybody
wants
to
be
with
slay
the
mic
just
because
they
they
have
such
a
great
time.
You
know
and
their
their
ceo
elizabeth
garland
is
amazing
and
she
really
is
able
to
connect
with
them
and
not
necessarily
in
your
typical
nine
to
five
sort
of
way.
You
know
and
provide
them
with
different
opportunities.
You
know
that
they
ordinarily
wouldn't
have
so
I
had
they
had.
I
had
five
students
with
slay
the
mic
this
year.
C
A
C
Her
you
know
I
had
another
student,
that's
super
into
marketing.
He
already
has
his
own
marketing
business
and
now
he's
handling
some
marketing
things
for
slave
and
mike
as
well.
I
had
a
young
lady
last
year
that
worked
with
slay
them
like
she
did
such
a
phenomenal
job
with
their
marketing.
She
was
hired
by
them
after
the
internship
you
know,
and
now
she
wants
to
build
like
her
own
marketing
empire,
good.
B
For
her,
and
now
she
has
the
experience
she
has
the
resources,
I
bet.
Oh,
I
I
wish
I
was
part
of
kayla
growing
up
in
high
school.
I
feel
like
everyone.
Everyone
should
go
through
some
sort
of
process
where
they
get
the
experience
where
they
learn
and,
most
importantly,
you
know,
work
on
themselves
and
figure
out
what
they
really
like.
C
We
do
kind
of
have
like
our
own,
like
kayla
orientation,
so
before
they
begin
their
actual
internships,
we're
together
for
a
whole
week,
and
we
work
on
skills
and
just
stuff
like
for
them
to
prepare
them
for
their
internships,
and
one
of
the
things
we
really
work
on
is
trying
to
uncover
what
they're
passionate
about
you
know.
I
love
to
see
that
light
bulb
moment
go
off
for
a
student
to
be
like
hey,
like
I
could
do
this
one
day.
A
C
So
when
we're
not
in
the
middle
of
a
pandemic,
we
do
community
service
projects
typically
once
or
twice
a
month,
and
as
long
as
our
students
commit,
I
basically
as
long
as
they
finish
or
complete
in
one
of
those.
Maybe
half
of
those
community
service
projects
do
like
three
or
four
during
the
school
year,
then
they
are
considered.
C
C
It
is
a
trip
so
for
my
students
that
are
going
into
their
senior
year,
we're
actually
going
to
start.
This
tomorrow
is
the
first
day
our
first
college
prep
input
session.
So
I
put
together
a
timeline
pretty
much
for
every
single
student,
that's
going
to
be
a
rising
senior
and
I
outline
everything
that
they
need
to
do
between
tomorrow
and
the
early
action
deadline
of
the
college
of
their
choosing,
and
I
provide
them
with
weekly
updates,
I'm
on
them
like
white
on
rice.
It's
a
lot,
not
gonna
lie.
C
B
Yes,
I
remember-
and
this
is
just
personal
experience,
but
I
procrastinated
maybe
a
little
too
much
then
again,
I
didn't
have
someone
to
remind
me,
or
even
tell
me
of
all
the
things
that
I
needed
to
do
so
I
I
love
the
fact
that
you
know
we
talked
about
students
who
are
in
more
need
than
others.
That
seems
to
be
a
big
focus
of
kayla
and
helping
them,
and
I
think
guiding
them
is
gonna
help
them.
You
know,
get
access
to
colleges,
especially
early.
C
Action
early
yeah,
yes,
so
our
goal
is
like
if
I
can
get
everybody
to
apply
at
the
beginning
of
the
college
application
session
and
do
the
early
abide
by
the
early
action
guidelines.
They
are
basically
put
into
the
pot
ahead
of
time
for
merit
scholarships
and
that
has
been
very
beneficial
for
our
students
and
it's
hey
they've
been
able
to
rack
up
and
get
some
coins.
It's
been
great.
B
Is
that's
life-changing
what
you're
doing
it
really
affects
many
people
and
not
only
them,
but
I
assume
their
families
and
you
know
whatever
impact
they
end
up
making
in
the
city.
It's
all
thanks
to
you.
Thank
you.
So
you
said
that
kayla
started
way
back
in
2007
and
I
assume
things
have
changed,
hopefully
for
the
better.
Yes,
can
you
give
us
a
glimpse
of
maybe
some
things
that
will
be
changing
the
near
future?.
C
So
we
are
looking
at
the
possibility
of
expanding
right
now
we
have
a
total
of
38
students
in
our
current
cohort
and
outlining
a
plan
to
see
what
the
possibility
of
having
50
students
could
look
like
you
know.
So
it's
big
yeah,
yes,
a
major
change.
One
of
the
things
that
we're
going
to
be
launching
this
fall
is
also
called
the
kayla
youth
advisory
board.
C
C
B
C
Know
yeah
and
I
think
it
helps
keep
them
informed
about
just
whatever
is
going
on
in
their
community
at
the
end
of
the
day.
Just
because,
like
their
our
youth's
perspective
on
things
is
life-changing.
I
can't
tell
you
how
many
times
I've
sat
up
at
a
coffee
shop
with
a
student
read
over
their
personal
statement
and
saying
my
mind,
is
blown
and
I'm
like
I've.
Never
even
thought
about
that.
Like
that,
oh
my
gosh,
like
you
know
the
way
they
question
things
and
not
in
a
disrespectful
manner.
You
know.
A
B
C
C
B
C
Yes,
especially
when
it
comes
to
them
moving
into
college,
we
have
had
a
ton
of
kayla
students
within
the
last
few
years,
going
down
to
a
t
and
several
of
them
moved
in.
I
think
we've
got
at
least
five
that
went
to
a
t,
but
I've
had
several
already
there.
You
know,
and
I
let
some
of
them
know
this
past
week
and
I
was
like
hey,
you
got
some
friends
coming
down
the
mountain.
B
C
I
want
to
encourage
them
to
go
on
and
you
know
explore
all
your
career
options.
You
know
if
you
choose
to
come
back
to
asheville
and
work
woohoo
yay,
we
love
it,
you
know,
but
if
you
want
to
go,
broaden
your
horizons
elsewhere,
that's
perfectly
fine
too.
One
of
my
best
friend
is
also
a
kayla
alum.
She
just
completed
her
second
masters
from
tulane
university
and
is
living
her
best
life
in
new
orleans.
Right
now
you
know
and
she's
thinking
of
definitely
coming
back.
You
know,
but
she's
been
able
to
get
away
yeah.
B
And
that's
something
that
I
found
happens,
a
lot
with
people
who
end
up
not
going
to
college
or
just
they
don't
have
the
opportunity
to
leave
their
hometown
for
some
time,
and
I
it
is
very
beneficial
to
broaden
your
horizons,
learn
about
different
cultures.
Different
people
get
out
of
your
hometown
for
a
while
see
what
you
like.
However,
there
have
there
been
any
kayla
students
that
have
left
asheville.
A
C
C
C
You
know,
but
he
did
complete
the
caleb
process
or
whatever
during
the
summer
of
his
after
his
sophomore
year.
Okay,
you
know
and
I
have
another
one.
Another
student
that's
moved
to
tennessee,
but
she
still
her
roots
are
here
and
she
comes
and
visits.
So
I
send
her
opportunities
every
now
and
then
you
know
if
there's
something
that
she's
applicable
for
as
well.
B
C
Are
tons
of
them
in
the
city,
it
just
depends
on
what
business
or
entity
I'm
working
with.
You
know.
I
have
an
awesome
right-hand
man
at
the
courthouse
named
r.j
harvin
that
I'm
definitely
in
contact
with.
We
have
several
that
work
for
you,
unca
and
just
they're
everywhere,
bank
of
america
merrill
lynch
they're
they're
all
over
the
place.
That's.
B
You
know
once
you
start
working
for
the
city,
and
you
know
I
found
working
for
the
city
recently
because
I'm
new,
mostly
just
to
asheville,
but
you
know
it's
a
lot
of
great
people
and
the
opportunities
are
really
there
and
you
might
not
have
the
knowledge
or
you.
You
might
not
think
you
have
it,
but
you
know
we
bring
it
out
and
that
that's
something
that
I
really
appreciate
about.
Asheville
in
general,
I
had
no
idea
we
had
so
many
kayla
students,
they're
everywhere.
C
Okay,
so
it
depends
on
where
they're
placed
at
at
the
moment
you
know.
So
let
me
give
you
a
quick
example,
so
one
it
depends
on
where
they're
placed
at
and
two
it
depends
on
really
like
what
their
specific
interests
are.
So
last
year
I
had
two
young,
ladies,
that
were
really
interested
in
possibly
being
veterinarians
one
day,
so
they
interned
with
our
nature
center.
C
You
know,
and
they
also
really
enjoyed
working
with
youth,
so
they
kind
of
would
help
out
with
when
it
came
to
youth
engagement
programs
that
the
nature
center
would
put
on.
In
addition
to
being
able
to
kind
of
be
with
the
petting
zoo
area
and
stuff,
like
that,
you
know
getting
to
feed
the
deer,
and
you
know
just
kind
of
doing
a
little
bit
of
everything.
I.
C
So
it
literally
just
kind
of
depends.
I
check
in
with
them.
Every
week
I
had
a
young
lady.
That
was
really
she
wants
to
be
a
teacher
one
day.
You
know
so
she
interned
with
ytl's
summer
program
this
year.
You
know
and
got
to
see
I
get
to
really
be
hands-on
with
young
kids
and
see
like
really
what's
it
like.
C
A
C
Kind
of
on
fridays,
yeah
yeah
we
get
to
bond
with
one
another
like
they
already
know
that
breakfast
and
lunch
are
going
to
be
provided,
they're
going
to
be
fed,
you
know
and
we're
going
to
learn
and
we're
going
to
have
a
good
time.
Some
of
the
places
that
we
went
this
year,
we
went
on
a
trolley
tour
just
to
get
some
background
information
on
asheville
in
the
history
we
went
white
water
rafting
out
in
antahelum.
That
was
probably
my
favorite
field
trip
coldest
water.
I've
ever
been
in.
C
B
C
B
C
So
you
know,
and
she
inspired
a
lot
of
our
girls
that
were
really
into
hair
and
makeup.
You
know,
and
for
she
came
talked
about
her
business.
How
successful
it's
been,
you
know
and
it
showed
a
lot
of
our
girls
like
okay.
I
can
do
this.
Look
at
miss
promise.
Look
at
how
she's
doing
this
you
know
and
for
them
to
just
see
like
okay.
B
B
C
Would
encourage
anybody
that
is
a
sophomore
or
a
junior.
Please
apply
just
because
this
program
provides
you
with
so
many
different
connections
and
experiences
that
you,
ordinarily
wouldn't
have,
and
if
you
have
applied
and
didn't
get
in,
please
don't
be
discouraged.
I
want
to
shed
some
light
on
the
first
time
I
applied
to
kayla.
I
didn't
get
in
you
know,
but
we
really
want
to
focus
on
our
students
that
will
that
have
a
need,
a
significant
need.
You
know
whether
you
might
end
up
being
like
a
first-generation
college
student.
C
You
know
like
I
am
a
teacher's
kid.
I
grew
up
in
a
two-parent
household,
you
know,
and
there
wasn't
much
of
a
financial
need.
The
first
time
I
applied
to
kayla,
you
know,
and
one
day
my
eventually
my
father
was
laid
off
of
his
job
and
our
financial
circumstances
changed
a
little
bit.
You
know
and
I
was
able
to
get
into
the
program.
A
B
C
C
Show
she
had
been
in
the
kayla
program
for
two
years
and
because
she
attended
buncombe
county
early
college,
she
kind
of
had
like
an
extra
senior
year.
You
know-
and
I
sat
her
down
and
I
was
like
okay
like
is
there
a
certain
place
that
you
want
to
intern
with?
Or
you
know
if
I
come
across
a
really
good
opportunity,
I'm
going
to
send
it
your
way
and
she
was
really
into
finance
and
in
the
end
she
got
into
this
phenomenal
program
with
bank
of
america.
Then
I
found
it.
C
C
You
know
if
we
weren't
in
the
middle
of
pandemic,
she
would
have
been
flown
out
to
dc,
and
you
know
everything
would
have
been
taken
care
of
taken
care
of
for
her
for
the
entire
summer,
but
that
really
laid
the
foundation
for
her
and
provided
a
really
nice
segue
into
her
final
senior
year
and
she
went
on
to
get
a
full
ride
from
elon.
So
I
mean.
B
B
People
are
listening.
I
like
that.
You
said
that,
because
I
do
want
to
talk
a
little
bit
about
your
voice,
your
choice
and
I
already
talked
about
it,
but
please
go
to
our
website.
We
have
an
engage
button
and
if
you
sign
up
you
can
answer
some
questions
about
what
topics
of
interest
you
have
and
we'll
just
keep
you
updated
with
all
the
projects
in
the
city,
and
you
can
tell
us
how
we're
doing
you
can.
You
know.
B
Hold
us
accountable,
tell
us
that
we're
not
doing
a
good
job
if
we're
not
meeting
your
needs
and
these
for
the
people
that
often
feel
that
their
voices
are
not
hurt
enough.
So
yeah,
please
go
to
our
website
at
ashevillenc.gov
and
click
on
the
engagement
button
on
the
top
and
alex.
Thank
you
so
so
much
for
you
know
for
your
time
and
for
everything
you've
told
us
today.
Hopefully
you
get
a
lot
of
applicants
this
year.
B
C
B
Great
well,
thank
you
so
much
and
that's
all
the
time
we
have
for
today
for
what's
up
asheville.
Thank
you
so
much
for
listening
and
please
don't
forget
to
participate
in
the
different
projects
that
we
have
at
the
city
and
stay
informed
about
our
latest
news
visit
our
website
at
asheville
and
see
that
gov
to
learn
more
about
our
different
departments
and
what
we
can
do
for
you
and
stay
tuned
and
we'll
be
back
to
talk
about
another
city
project
in
the
near
future.
Right
here
on,
wres
100.7
fm
take
care
of
one
another.