What began as a summer internship has turned into a career-changing experience for Annelise Axelsson. The recent high school grad is spending her third summer working at Roytec, a wire harness manufacturer in Woodstock, and it’s put her on a career path to become a mechanical engineer.
“I thought it was the most educational program I could get, and I really wanted to go into an engineering field,” Axelsson said. “This job helped me solidify what I want to do in the future; it helped me understand what every day would be like.”
Axelsson is part of the Cherokee Summer Internship Program, created through a partnership with Cherokee County’s Office of Economic Development and the local school district to offer paying summer jobs to area high school juniors and seniors. Since launching in 2018, its goal has been to develop a local workforce and raise awareness about the county’s diverse career opportunities.
“A lot of people here commute outside the county, and we wanted to keep local talent and reduce that ‘out’ commute,” said Shawna Mercer, the Economic Development office’s workforce and communications manager. “So we reached out to local companies that were willing to train students. Each company sends us parameters, the students take a look, and if they fit, they go through an interview process with the company.”
With 17 interns this year, the program has its largest cohort to date. The plus for students is giving them a close-up look at a career field they may want to pursue – or not.
“Many of them use it as a discovery,” said Mercer. “We had a student who discovered she really liked human resources and is going to study that at Kennesaw State. But we’ve also had feedback from others who told us they wanted to pursue something else – a good thing to know before they paid for a college degree or technical training. They really figured out where their skill sets lie.”
Tim May, Roytec’s training and safety manager, said the company jumped on board from the beginning and also offers apprenticeships throughout the school year.
“We do it so the kids can gain experience in an industry they can continue in, if that’s right for them,” he said. “They’re smart and driven, and they have a great work ethic that rubs off on our people in a positive way. And it engages our leaders, supervisors and managers in mentorship relationships that refuel them.”
The company’s interns go through “Roytec University” where they learn how to read prints and drawings, understand the manufacturing process and become familiar with production areas before they hit the floor to get hands-on experience that may go well beyond the job description, said Axelsson.
“It was eye-opening to learn through doing,” she said. “It allowed me to take the first real steps in building my career and helped me learn so much about my dream job. But I also learned how to pay taxes.”
Information about the program is online at cherokeega.org/internship.
SEND US YOUR STORIES. Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
