(Andrea Curtis (left), executive assistant for the City of Watsonville, gives Watsonville High School seniors Juan Vargas and Yannely Collazo a run-through of the daily tasks at the administrative offices of the Watsonville Civic Plaza on Thursday. Photo by Erik Chalhoub/Pajaronian)
WATSONVILLE — Deep into summer break, 21 students will be spending their time learning the ins and outs of various city departments, while also getting paid and receiving school credits.
The Summer in the City Internship Program, a program put on by the City of Watsonville and Pajaro Valley Unified School District, kicks off its inaugural year July 9-27.
The pilot program is open to incoming juniors and seniors who attend Watsonville, Pajaro Valley and Aptos high schools. Seven students will be chosen from each school, and they will spend three weeks in July attending a class in the morning and working in a city department afterward.
Those who complete the program will receive a $500 stipend, as well as 2.5 elective credits.
“The next generation of Watsonville youth will become the citizens and leaders of tomorrow, and we hope to provide them with the tools that will help prepare them for a successful future,” said Assistant City Manager Matt Huffaker.
The program is modeled after the Summer at City Hall program established in Sacramento in 2010, said Senior Administrative Analyst Elizabeth Padilla.
After City Councilwoman Rebecca Garcia expressed interest in starting an internship program after she had seen one at a League of California Cities Conference, Padilla said she reached out to Sacramento and the Institute for Local Government for resources to help start the program.
She then reached out to PVUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez, who agreed to partner with the city on the program.
“The Summer in the City program is an excellent opportunity for upcoming juniors and seniors to engage in local government and to experience valuable insight into their future college and career choices in public service,” Rodriguez said. “It is a valuable form to identify ways to positively impact their community.”
A number of city and school district officials and others met to come up with the program’s format.
Garcia also met with a small group of high school students to get their feedback on the program.
Among those students were Watsonville High School seniors Yannely Collazo and Juan Vargas, who are currently recruiting their peers to apply for the internship.
“It opens a lot more doors to jobs they might not have heard about,” Collazo said.
Vargas said he is encouraging other students to take advantage of the opportunity.
“It’s a really good thing to put on a résumé or college application,” he said.
Padilla said the hope is to expand the program to more schools in the future.
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The Summer in the City Internship Program runs July 9-27. Applications are due May 11.
Candidates must be a high school senior or junior and have a minimum GPA of 2.0. Applications must include two recommendation letters and a one-page essay, among other things.
For information, call Padilla at 768-3018 or visit tinyurl.com/ybf52mft.
