Navajo County Teens Empowered Through CFA’s Virtual Internship Program to Create Youth-Driven Mental Health Solution

Students, Bobbi Seaton and Tyra Dixon, pose with United Way of Northern Arizona President and CEO Liz Archuleta after receiving awards for their outstanding contributions.

Tyra Dixon and Bobbi Seaton were Navajo County high schoolers living in rural, northeastern Arizona when an intriguing opportunity presented itself: a paid, virtual internship offered through Center for the Future of Arizona’s (CFA) Pathways to Prosperity. This initiative, in partnership with the national nonprofit Work Based Learning Alliance (WBLA), provided them with the chance to connect with community leaders and gain professional experience—work that would benefit their peers in Joseph City and Holbrook.

The girls jumped into the program paired with a mentor from United Way of Northern Arizona, managing to balance their schoolwork and obligations at home with the demands of the semester-long internship.

“It taught me to work under pressure and expect the unexpected,” Seaton said of the experience.

The virtual internship is designed to create connections among high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors and Arizona-based organizations. Guided by industry mentors and WBLA’s structured approach and team of advisors, students work together to solve real-world problems while gaining valuable experience in a professional environment with companies they might not otherwise have access to due to financial or transportation barriers.

“We were really happy to partner with Center for the Future of Arizona on this project," said Liz Archuleta, President and CEO of the United Way of Northern Arizona and former Coconino County Supervisor. "What I loved most about it was that the subject matter was determined by the youth. This initiative, driven by CFA, was for youth by youth—empowering students to address issues that matter most to them."

Dixon and Seaton focused on mental health for their peers, many of whom live on the Navajo Nation. Through peer listening sessions and surveys, the two discovered that youth living in their area were struggling.

Their research found that more than a third classified their mental health as “poor” most of the time and nearly a quarter had considered suicide. Stress, anxiety, and substance use were high, and a sense of belonging was in short supply. The students’ research supports findings from the 2020 Gallup Arizona Survey where Apache, Coconino, and Navajo County residents reported being 29, 38, and 33 percent satisfied respectively, compared to 35 percent of all Arizonans, with the availability of mental healthcare providers in their communities.

Rendering of youth center the students dream of having in their community.

Tyra and Bobbi presented their findings, including their solution-focused idea to open a youth center in Navajo County, to the United Way of Northern Arizona’s board and the superintendents of Holbrook and Joseph City school districts, which inspired a collaboration with Grow Arizona Workforce Network to bring the students’ project to life. The idea is to create a youth center that includes a retail and hospitality element, giving the youth involved valuable, real-world workforce skills and experience.

“What came out of this is youth saying, ‘We really need a youth center.’ Part of mental wellness is having a sense of belonging and a youth center for youth developed by youth is key,” Archuleta said. “We’re very excited about this idea and we’re looking at ways to possibly fund it.”

Linda Kor, who runs Grow Arizona with Co-Founder and Holbrook Mayor Kathleen Smith, said she appreciates that these virtual internships instill students with experience while empowering them to think big and believe their voices matter.

“These internships have a dual effect that I just love,” Kor said. “In rural areas, we don’t often get heard, especially our youth, and especially our youth on the Navajo Nation. These kids are really excited. They feel like, ‘If I can do this, then I can do that.’ And they start coming to us with ideas.”

Kor said CFA and WBLA’s virtual internship model of allowing community leaders to tap into the concerns of its young people, engage them in civic life, and instill them with critical soft and professional skills, offers a valuable opportunity for students to build education and career pathways that will in turn develop Arizona’s workforce into the future.

“If we could do more of that, across the board, the results could be phenomenal with minimal investment,” she said.

It is that model that speaks to The Arizona We Want, a shared vision of success based on what matters most to Arizonans — embraced by CFA. To understand and measure what Arizonans want, CFA launched the Gallup Arizona Project, which in 2020 revealed that a majority (84%) of Arizonans believe that a highly-educated, highly-skilled workforce is important for Arizona’s economic future. Further, a majority (85%) of Arizonans also agree that everyone should be able to access mental health services.

A youth center, developed by local students for their peers with the guidance of local leaders, embodies The Arizona We Want fostering both personal growth and positive community change—paving the way for a more resilient and prosperous Arizona.

“I think that involving teens to help bring about solutions for the youth would be excellent because they have a better insight on the youth because they are the youth and connect with certain struggles,” Dixon said. “My hopes for the project that I started would be to have more places for anyone that is struggling with mental health or just need a place that they feel safe and welcomed.”

Grow Arizona received a donation of a building in Holbrook, which they plan to use as the location for the youth center.

With a building secured and specs in place, Dixon’s hope is one step closer to becoming a reality. Once funding is secured, Kor said, they can “hit it” and develop a space that is welcoming for area youth, allows them to earn retail and hospitality skills and seek academic and emotional support if and when they need it.

Kor said it’s the little things, like practicing, interviewing, or learning to engage in conversation in a professional environment, that can make all the difference for kids as they prepare to enter an adult world.

“It’s not big stuff, it's the time. The time and effort and awareness of the need. United Way and CFA have done that. They’ve seen the need and they did it and it’s invaluable for these kids,” Kor said. “We don't have a whole lot of resources here. Opening them to a broader audience is life changing for kids here.”

To learn more about CFA’s Arizona Pathways to Prosperity initiative, click here.