On Wednesday, Jan. 15, the city welcomed eight new high school interns from Westminster High School and Bollman Tech. This is the third year the city has hosted interns from the schools.

At an orientation session, they learned about workplace professionalism, dress code, SPIRIT values and more. It was a fun afternoon that culminated in a meet and greet with their new supervisors, who they hadn’t seen since interviewing for the internship in November.

The two Westminster High School students are Oscar Hernandez and Xaiver Garcia. Hernandez will be spending his fifteen week internship in Engineering with Public Works while Garcia will be interning in Parks Management in Parks, Recreation and Libraries. Both Hernandez and Garcia are part of the Westminster High School Internship Preparation Class. The internship class provides students with an opportunity to develop their interviewing skills, resume building, professional emailing etiquette, public speaking and organizational skills.

The six students from Bollman Tech are working with the following departments: Noelle Fancher, Eelya Vasilev and Gavin Lesh are with General Services, Kevin Sanchez and Kennedy Dechant are with Parks Recreation and Libraries, and Britta Maher is with Information Technology. Students from Bollman Tech are currently enrolled in specialized classes in line with their long term career goals. This internship will provide them with work related experience as they continue to pursue their area of interest.

In addition to their work in the departments, the interns will come together twice over the course of the semester for enrichment events. The first is a career panel with leaders from the city and the second is an educational tour and activity at Standley Lake.

Thanks to the following supervisors and staff who are sponsoring these interns: Foreman Chad Paugh, Administrative Assistant Becky Picaso, Senior Engineer Dan Strietelmeier, Foreman Rob Walls, Facilities Supervisor Dan Long, Foreman David Thorley, IT Services Administrator Larry Garlick, Foreman Aaron Stafford, Parks Specialist Kahai Sibley, Construction Project Specialist David Richards and Recreation Supervisor Joseph Harris.