Ms. Imani Mitchell and Ms. Alyson Wright Make Claflin Family Connections in Philadelphia

My name is Imani Mitchell, a senior marketing major at Claflin University. My experience as an intern for the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support has been nothing short of extraordinary.

From the application process, to right now, I have been nothing but proud to represent and call myself a Claflinite. As just a mere applicant, I was told of the rare opportunity I was getting as a Claflin student to possibly be chosen for such a program in the federal government.

 Once chosen and offered a position, Claflin alumni from the Philadelphia area (where the internship is located) were contacted and worked together to find reasonable housing accommodations for myself and another Claflin undergraduate, Alyson Wright, who was also accepted into the program.

This, of course, was extremely helpful and I was truly happy to have such a willing network of alumni in my favor. The president of the Philadelphia Claflin Alumni Chapter and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Jonathon Hampton (c/o 2001), has treated us as nothing but their own family along with Ms. Julliette Byrd (c/o 1956), who agreed to house us for the duration of our stay.

Since I’ve started my internship, I have learned how to do small contract buys, solicitations, and even sat under long-term buys for the Construction and Equipment Department.  For each buy, you directly see just how much of a difference you are making for our soldiers and overall for our country. This internship not only taught me a lot about DLA Troop Support and all that they do for the country, but more importantly how precious my college education at Claflin is. With this program, I will be eligible to proceed non-competitively into the next phase of the full-time intern program. This is will allow me to graduate from a paid grade of GS 7 to a GS 11 in just three short years – an opportunity many do not ever see. One year shy of being a matriculated product of Claflin University, I am more than excited to join my alumni family and give back to my institution just as willing as it has given to me in an abundance of ways and hopefully return back to DLA Troop Support fulltime.

 _____

My name is Alyson Wright from Capron, Virginia. I am currently a junior at Claflin University majoring in business administration.  The summer internship I participated in is the Defense Logistics Agency- Troop Support, Student Career Employment Program (SCEP) in Philadelphia, PA.

My internship experience has been wonderful.  I was able to learn all about the DLA and gain a complete understanding of the activities and job responsibilities that take place here on the Naval Supply Base.  I met and greeted the general, as well as the colonel of my department and the Defense Deputy of the Supply Chain Management.  Each day I am gaining hands on experience with contracting and learning processes towards small purchases within the Clothing and Textiles Department.  Developing relationships with my supervisors and networking with previous interns and Student Career Employment Program participants has been amazing.