WVAS Local

Selma YEP Program

WVAS | By Melanie Hogan

Published July 24, 2025 at 7:14 PM EDT

In Selma, the City held its official closeout for the 2025 Youth Employment Program, known as YEP at Wallace Community College today.

Over 100 high school and college students completed the summer program, gaining career and life skills through city department placements. Some were even offered full-time positions. Participants worked between 16 and 40 hours a week at $9 an hour, with jobs ranging from labor to administrative roles.

Mayor James Perkins Jr. called YEP a cornerstone of Selma’s workforce development strategy, saying it prepares young residents for success and helps build the city’s future leadership.

WVAS Local

Melanie Hogan

Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.

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