In Bed-Stuy, the Students Are the Ones Leading the Job Interviews

• Pictured: Lateisha Caston discusses her work. Photo by John V. Santore

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — At P.S. 21 on Friday afternoon, Marcus and Elijah, both nine years old, talked about their goals.

"I want to be an architect, or a chef if it doesn't work out," Marcus said.

Elijah saw himself working with computers, or being a marine biologist.

Lily Rouff, part of a group of volunteering Viacom employees paired up with about two-dozen students at cafeteria tables, explained that she was a social media manager with MTV.

"Did you go to computer schools?" Elijah asked. "Hacker stuff?"

Asked what advice she had for people who want a job like hers, Rouff told the students to "work really hard and know what you like to do."

Soon after that, Elijah got down to business.

"How much do you make?" he asked.

At another table, Lateisha Caston, a digital designer who also works for MTV, said she likes her job because, "I love art (and) I get to do it all day."

"In second grade, I used to be an artist," eight-year-old Kiiah said.

Caston suggested Kiiah's retirement was premature, and asked if she still had an artist inside of her.

Lily Rouff talks to students at P.S. 21

The volunteer activity — reverse job interviews where students interviewed adults about their careers — was organized by Brooklyn Community Services (BCS), a 150-year-old social services non-profit that runs an array of programming in the borough for children, adults and families.

P.S. 21 is one of seven schools where BCS operates after school programming, staffers said, including tutoring and field trips.

The group also has two youth programs for kids between 16 and 21, and currently utilizes the skills of about 1,000 volunteers.

Jelani Thomas, 25, a BCS community organizer, said he was recruited by the organization after its executive director read a 2014 profile about him in the New York Times.

At the time, he was newly graduated from Brooklyn College, but in a still-sputtering economy, he was unemployed.

Thomas said Friday's activity is beneficial both for students — "It opens their eyes to different career options" beyond what they see in the media, he said — and for volunteers, allowing them to enjoy the experience of being a mentor.

At a third table, Raymond, 11, and Cairo, 10, were bantering with the comfortable timing of old friends.

"I don't know why you say you want to be a basketball All-Star, because you can't shoot," Raymond said to Cairo.

"I can guard," Cairo retorted.

Raymond said he wanted to be a professional football player so he can inspire others with his play.

"I really want to make people happy," he said.

"When people are in the hospital and they like sports, he wants to entertain them," Cairo explained sagely. "I understand. I get it."

While Cairo loves sports too, he said he's actually decided to become a scientist, a job which "helps a lot of people and the world."

How does he plan to get there? By studying, he said, "No stopping, no distractions."

And his scientific goals?

"I love aliens," he said, adding that he wants to discover "new life forms" in outer space. Plus, he wants to be the first person to stand on Neptune using specially-designed anti-gravity boots, considering how "it's made out of water." (That's adorable. It's also correct.)

The job interviews were wrapping up, and Cairo, his backpack squarely in place, headed off to home.