OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — With many companies still not allowing employees back in the office, summer internships have been affected But despite the pandemic, Intern Omaha has secured internships for students.
Baxter Auto, one of their corporate partners selected a handful of students for their year-long internship program. They rented out the ACX Cinema in Elkhorn for a welcome orientation.
"The kids that come into this program are an important part of our employment pipeline and an important part of us building our companies. Today fewer and fewer kids are getting exposure to the trades including automotive," said Mickey Anderson, President of Baxter Auto.
Intern Omaha had to make a few adjustments due to COVID but they were able to help more than high school juniors get internships this summer.
"Our health care partners had to step away this year, we are hoping to bring them back this coming year. Our trade partners had different regulations, so each business approached it a bit differently," said Ana Lopez Shalla, Director of Intern Omaha.
The orientation included one-on-one conversations where the students get the lay of the land as well as an opportunity to ask questions.
"I saw an opportunity and I love cars so it is a perfect mix of a hobby and potential career," said Cole Pecha, Intern Omaha student.
The orientation ended with students going outside and getting to peek underneath the hood of several cars as well as sit behind the wheel.
"Typically when people think of the car business, they think of the car salesperson and certainly we have many roles in sales but we have an extensive IT department, groups of people working in marketing, social media, all the different channels we have to employ to connect with our customer," added Anderson.
Pecha adds he already has some idea of what he wants to do.
"I'd love to be a master tech one day or maybe just a general manager. I am more excited to see which opportunities arise more than focusing on one," he said.
This internship opportunity isn't available for everyone.
"We like to keep the process very competitive and realistic. Just like a regular job application, they turn in their resumes, answer questions and they then get interviewed by the employer and ultimately the employers get the final say," said Jan Benitez, Internship Coordinator at Intern Omaha.
Baxter Auto only offers the amount of internships equal to the number of jobs they think they will be in a position to offer after the full-year internship is over.
If you're interested in applying or want more information, go to Intern Omaha's website at www.internomaha.org.
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.
