Seanna “Sea” Villeneuve, Education Division Summer Intern Coordinator
By Ethan Thomas, Communications Department Summer Intern
(The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe is proud to provide employment opportunities for high school and college students through the Department of Education’s Summer Youth and Career Internship Employment Program. To help report on this initiative, we are proud to share the following summer student spotlight, which reports on internships in areas specific to the student’s chosen career path.)
Seanna, who is affectionately referred to as “Sea” by her friends and family, is 25-years old and the daughter of Marc and Malinda Villeneuve. She formerly attended the University of British Columbia where she was a Psychology Major, but this fall she is taking advantage of the opportunity to study over- “Sea”. Sea will be attending the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, where she will continue her studies and travel across various countries in Europe.
This past summer, Sea was one (1) of two (2) Summer Intern Coordinators for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT). Along with Narissa “Netha” Thompson; she assisted in planning, coordinating, and scheduling meetings for the Summer Internship Program. One of her initial responsibilities was to help set up and conduct interviews, place students in positions that matched their career interests, and provide orientations. She also conducted regular check-ins with all summer interns, held workshops, and helped with special events, amongst other things.
Prior to working as a Summer Intern Coordinator, Sea worked for both SRMT and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA). She worked for the Tribe’s Health Services and as a receptionist at MCA’s Administration #1 Building. When applying for the Summer Intern Coordinator position, she saw an opportunity to build upon her prior job experience, develop her leadership skills, and to gain additional knowledge about the Tribe.
Throughout the course of this year’s Summer Internship Program, Sea enjoyed helping to address individual problems or concerns, working towards communicating more efficiently, and spending time with her peers — guiding interns through their summer internships as seamlessly as possible.
When she’s not at work; Sea enjoys listening to music, watching Netflix, and reading books. She says her three (3) favorite shows are Lost, Greys Anatomy, and Snowpiercer; while her favorite movies are Interstellar, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and Arrival.
Reflecting on the experience gained from her summer employment, words of advice that Sea would like to spread is that “the journey is the destination.” Well Sea, “Niawen/Thank you” for making it an enjoyable and rewarding journey for all of our summer interns and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors!
In closing, the above spotlight concludes the summer series written by Communications Department Summer Intern Ethan Thomas; who interviewed, photographed, and drafted personalized articles on each of the Tribe’s College Summer Interns. We extend our appreciation to Ethan for his efforts in sharing spotlights on seven (7) of the nine (9) college interns who worked for the Tribe this past summer.
Time did not allow for spotlights on Early Learning Center (ELC) Receptionist Intern Kaitlain Mitchell and ELC Head Start Teacher Assistant Intern Taylor Swamp, but we look forward to the possibility of their return next year. Until then, we offer our sincere appreciation for their hard work and with them much success during the 2022-2023 academic year.
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The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council is the duly elected and federally recognized government of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe.
