SPRINGFIELD — Connections are sparking after 70 high school juniors and seniors completed month-long internships throughout Springfield and Eugene last week.
Coordinated by Connected Lane County, a nonprofit dedicated to youth development, the program matched students with local businesses and organizations that align with their career interests.
The interns were selected from over 300 applicants and collectively earned $190,400 in wages.
“Opportunities are what we do, and by far, the summer internship program is our biggest one,” said Mónica Reynoso, CLC community outreach coordinator, during the celebration event on Friday at Spark at Booth-Kelley.
Erica Martinez Contreras, a recent graduate of Springfield High School, will be attending the University of Oregon in the fall. She interned at Molina Law Group, an immigration law firm in Springfield.
“I was a little bit intimidated walking in on my first day into a real office felt scary, but the team welcomed me with open arms,” Martinez Contreras said, adding that the law firm, “is powered by strong, brilliant women, and being around them reminded me that not only do I want to pursue a career in law, I want to work with people like them.”
Internships included experiences with Greenhill Humane Society’s surgical team, Nearby Nature’s educational services, and Art-Inc community theatre, among others.
“They were so excited, so positive. They tried everything, said Marti Stevens Byers, the artistic and executive director for the theater. “They never said no. One of the most important things you can learn in a theater company is the process of saying, ‘yes, and?’. These wonderful young people said ‘yes, and?’ to anything. They’re such an inspiration.”
This is the second year The Chronicle has hosted an intern through Connected Lane County. This year, The Chronicle hosted Springfield High School junior Bradley Norris, whose bylines can be seen in recent editions, including this week’s edition on critical services being provided by the local Oregon Disaster Airlift Response Team.
