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Academy student interns create success

       Now in its third year, the Academy program for interns continues to grow. The Academy High School prepares student interns with 300 hours of classroom study in their field of interest, then grades them on professional qualities such as timeliness, the ethical use of technology, ability to work as a team member, the ability to set and meet goals, and as an individual. Participating seniors must keep an A/B average.

       Interns work about 15-20 hours a week. Paid internships are preferred because of the time investment, and having an income allows the students to purchase appropriate work clothing and cover transportation costs, but the program may accept non-paid internships based on a student’s preference.

       Thelma Cantu, the coordinator for the Partnerships in Education, explained the details of the program.
       “As interns they are interviewed by prospective employers and the owners select them; the student interns are not placed,” Ms. Cantu said. “At each business, we have an intern coordinator who helps us ensure that the student is meeting expectations, or gets additional training as needed. Last year, nearly 100 businesses participated in the program in eight career areas: cosmetology, medical/dental, legal/ criminal justice, advanced/applied technology, marketing, education, and visual arts/communication.”

       Rick Stokes who works in the marketing department at Your Federal Credit Union, supports the interns.
       “We took on three interns last year in the marketing, administration and lending departments, and budget allowed for two of them to continue with us through the summer. They have performed well in their capacities, and we will look at the program again this year,” Mr. Stokes said.

       Mr. Chris Harvey of Aquire, a company whose flagship product is organizational charting software, will begin a second round of interviews in a couple of weeks.

       “We tried the internship program for the first time last year. My first selection was a very sharp guy. He did very well under intense and  demanding conditions. I can’t believe he made it. I wanted him to stay on, but he moved on to college classes,” Mr. Harvey said.

       Another business wanted to hire their intern permanently too. Tim Landers of Beep-a-Geek has already selected an intern for the current year.
       “Our first intern did succeed in his capacities—we worked him like any other technician. I did keep him over the summer and would have kept him on, but, unfortunately, he moved out of the area. Our new intern started today,” Mr. Landers said. “I would definitely recommend this program to other businesses; it’s a win-winsituation. The intern sees what the ‘real world’  is like and the employer can use this time to train a potential regular worker. I take allinterviewees (intern or regular employees) to a central restaurant since we have a homebased business. Every intern I interviewed or inquired about was qualified. This time around, it was a toss up between two candidates and I even thought about hiring both. My first intern learned a lot while he was with us. Our current intern told me today he’s already learned a lot - after one day,” Mr. Landers said.

       Mayra Rodriguez, office manager for Dr. Anthony Henegar, DDS, raved about how well her intern did last year.
       “Our intern performed very, very well. She was responsible for a variety of tasks, from sterilizing instruments and room set-ups to having patient contact and filing insurance claims. This year we are requesting two interns. I highly recommend the intern program to  other businesses. Also, Dr. Henegar graduated from MacArthur and this is one way we continue to participate with the school system,” Ms. Rodriguez said.