Community Pulse: Grundy County Summer Internship Program - from intern to full-time employee

Summer jobs are a part of growing up, and the Grundy County Internship Program is proud to continue the tradition. However, unlike many summer jobs, these internships give students a chance to work in a future career, learn about local companies, and all of them are PAID.

In its 13th year of the Grundy County Internship Program, the program began to provide a pipeline of talent to premier businesses in our community and give students a chance to gain real world experience in a field of their interest. Now with over 320 students successfully completing the program, it continues to grow and expand. It started with just three companies, and this year includes thirteen. More companies mean expanded and diverse positions including, but not limited to accounting, healthcare, IT, engineering, pharmacy, public works, government, and much more.

Too often our children go away to college or post high school programs and never return because they are unaware of the opportunities right here in their own backyard. Students now understand when they leave for college or additional training, they can come back to Grundy County upon graduation and find challenging and rewarding careers.

Several Interns have been hired full-time after receiving their college degree or completing additional training with the company they interned at. Reflecting the success of the internship program and ongoing commitment to nurturing emerging talent.

Alec Ferrari, Engineering/CAD Technician at Spaceco stated, “my internship was much different than what I expected when I started, in the best way possible. I learned so much about the professional world and it gave me a leg up on my peers.”

“The internship helped me discover not only what I enjoyed, but also what I didn’t—which is just as important. It gave me a real-world look into an industry I didn’t fully understand at the time and opened the door to a career”, Sage Reisch, HR Supervisor, United States Cold Storage in Minooka.

Kameron Dransfeldt, Commercial Portfolio Manager, Busey Bank noted “the internship program gave me the opportunity to experience working in the banking industry while also being able to build relationships with many individuals in the organization and community. In fact, I am still working with the same team I interned for while in college!”

Building tomorrow’s workforce is a requirement for a successful economy and this initiative is part of that goal. It is making a connection between the future workforce of Grundy County and employers. Thanks to a cooperative effort by Senator Rezin, Grundy Area Vocational Center, local business, and high school superintendents, Grundy County has a program that is attracting recognition from across the state.