MyEP credited with launching careers of Charlotte firefighter and city communications specialist

James Pearson, now a firefighter at Fire Station 4, says a summer placement through the City of Charlotte's Mayor's Youth Employment Program persuaded him to pursue firefighting as a career. "This is my calling. I caught the fire bug as they call it," Pearson says, describing a 2013 summer he spent working with the Charlotte Fire Department.

The program, commonly called MyEP, places high school students in summer positions with community employers. "I was 16 and wanted a summer job," said Mayon Eaves, who first learned of MyEP in 2016 and completed two terms — one with Elevation Church and another with CharMeck 311. Eaves now works as a public relations specialist in the City of Charlotte's Communications and Marketing Department and said the experience helped her build the skills she uses in that role.

Participants and the segment narrator highlighted that some students return to the organizations where they interned. "For employers, I think it's so important to understand the impact you can make by just creating an opportunity," the presenter says, summarizing the program's value. The segment noted that even a single summer placement can open pathways to long-term employment.

The piece includes small, concrete details from participants: Pearson gives tours at Fire Station 4 when he is not on duty, and an on-screen detail about equipment — "about 60 to 70 lb." — was mentioned in the narration. The segment closed with a visual note about markings on Pearson's helmet.

The segment does not report any formal vote or policy change; it presents MyEP as a workforce and youth-development program that participants and city staff say helps young people gain job experience and, in some cases, return to work for their summer employers.