SAN ANTONIO – A local summer internship program that has been connecting hundreds of high school students with major local employers is seeking more companies to join this year.
“We at Greater: SATX have been running this program under our SA WORX umbrella of workforce programs with high school students now going on our eighth year,” Romanita Matta-Barrera, chief business advancement officer at Greater: SATX said.
Matta-Barrera said they work closely with school districts and employers in the San Antonio area to bring internship opportunities to high school students.
More than 1,000 interns have participated in the program since its inception.
“They’re paid. We know a lot of our youth are working and we have a lot of youth who have financial needs. We calculated last year over $500,000 economic impact to youth salaries through our internship program alone,” Matta-Barrera said.
Last year, 30 employers participated in the summer internship program. Methodist Healthcare Ministries is participating in the program again this year.
“This year, our ninth year, we are going to host 41 internships in the various departments of Methodist Healthcare Ministries. We have our corporate headquarters, here at the Wesley Health and Wellness Center and the Dixon Health and Wellness Center,” Diane Rodriguez, senior talent management business partner at Methodist Healthcare Ministries said.
Students get paid about $15 hourly and work 40 hours a week.
“We do know that students need an opportunity to explore the various areas of healthcare, not just the clinical side, but there is also the business side of health care. We want to allow the students in the seven week internship program to go out there and get mentored from our health care professionals,” Rodriguez said.
Greater: SATX is inviting other companies to join the program.