Event Aims To Inject Philadelphia's Workforce With Some Youth
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Free Library of Philadelphia had a Center City Sips feel to it Tuesday night as hundreds of summer interns gathered on the rooftop for a unique networking event hosted by Campus Philly.
But President Deborah Diamond says this was about more than just fun and games:
"Campus Philly brings them together at the My Philly Summer party to meet each other, meet their peers, a great Philadelphia spot to show off the city and invite them to think about staying in Philadelphia after they graduate."
She has Philadelphia has plenty to offer for a young person about to enter the real world.
"A diverse, vibrant, lively city that really any neighborhood they go into they're going to discover something new and exciting for them," she said.
Jen Kegerise with event sponsor Cigna seconds that:
"Philadelphia is a phenomenal city, the culture, food entertainment, all of those things are perfect, and Philadelphia offers a lot of opportunity to grow your career with one or several employers."
Maya Turner is familiar with Philadelphia. She went to school nearby in Delaware and interns at TeenSHARP in Wilmington. And when that's done...
"I want to stay here," she says. "I'm starting to really explore Philadelphia now and I'm learning to love it and appreciate the area."
On the other hand, Ryan Beneduce grew up in Arizona. He's a Drexel student interning at TransSystems in Philadelphia. He also doesn't want to go anywhere.
"I'm from the west coast, but there's something about Philadelphia that makes me want to stay here," he says.
He's also glad he was one of about 300 summer interns attending this event.
"I feel like the city is so small even though we think it's really, really big and just to come out here and talk to everybody, it's a good time," Beneduce adds.
Some employees were also on hand looking to hire.
