Age: 20
Borough: Bronx
Favorite Book: Americana by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Favorite Movie: The Pursuit of Happiness
Place I Most Want to Visit: Dubai
People I'd Most Like to Meet:
Michelle and Barack Obama
Favorite NYC Restaurant: Burger and
Lobster on 43rd Street
Favorite Sports Team: Golden State Warriors
Most Important Quality In A Teen Leader:
Ambition
“My supervisor gave me a lot of options for my summer placement. I selected Read Alliance. Visiting the program inspired me.””
For the summer of 2019, Mame Mbeguere, a rising sophomore in Mercy College’s nursing program, was selected by the organization Beginning with Children for its summer internship placement program. Beginning with Children was founded on a “deep belief in the power of education to transform—a child, a family, a community.” Its summer internship program "provides students the opportunity to explore different career fields and enhance their professional skills in an actual workplace setting.”
“This summer, my main goal was to step out of my comfort zone,” says Mame. “My supervisor gave me a lot of options for my summer placement. I selected Read Alliance. Visiting the program inspired me. I loved how everyone was so happy there.
”Part of my role involved interviewing teen leaders. During my favorite interview, one of the teen leaders talked about how she was a ‘child-whisperer.’ It showed her passion for working with children in the future.
“I was born [in the U.S.] but at the age of two, my parents took me to Senegal. I returned when I was nine years old, and started learning English again. It was difficult because I knew how to speak French at the time. I would go to a tutoring session in school where I had a one-to-one with a teacher and she would teach me how to sound words out and combine them together.
“I started volunteering in hospitals at the age of 12. Nothing can beat helping people with their health and making them smile. I don’t think money or anything can replace that feeling. In the beginning of last year, after I was certified [as a nursing assistant] and started working in a nursing home, I thought I would want to do geriatric care. However, the field is so broad that I want to wait to make my decision.”