New York Times Features Urban Alliance

Giving Back to Teenagers

By 

JUNE 28, 2014

Nathaniel M. Cole, 27, is executive director of the Washington arm of the nonprofit Urban Alliance, which trains high school seniors for the workplace.

Q. You mentor 17- and 18-year olds and train them for office internships. How did you become interested in doing that?

A. I grew up in Washington, and I was lucky enough to have internships through the Urban Alliance. Those positions, one at the World Bank and one at Fannie Mae, helped me decide I did not want to become a lawyer after college, as I had thought, but instead to work with young people.

Q. What are some ways you get the students ready for the working world?

A. We talk about the importance of eye contact, a firm handshake, code switching — how you talk with friends versus how you talk in an office — not being late, internet etiquette and just about everything else.

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For more information, contact Wendy Dixon-DuBois at wdixon@theurbanalliance.org or 202-459-4300.