PORT EWEN – John and Stephan Gatica, who attend the Ulster BOCES Career & Technical Center’s Welding and Metal Fabrication Program, spend three days a week working side-by-side measuring and welding steel frames for custom-crafted windows before heading over to Ellenville High School to complete their school day.
The twin brothers are working 12 hours a week in paid internships at Optimum Windows, a custom steel window and door manufacturer in Ellenville whose products have been featured in Architectural Digest, ELLE Decor, and House Beautiful. The internships are available to the two high school seniors through the Ulster BOCES Internship Program.
The young professionals spend their mornings either attending hands-on classes at the Career & Technical Center in Port Ewen or working on custom-built architectural design projects for the local Ellenville-based manufacturing company, where they are earning a paycheck and academic credits towards graduation.
“In the classroom we learn how to weld, but we are only working on small projects,” Stephan Gatica said. “Through our internship, we can work on larger, real-world projects and get hands-on experience.”
At the end of March, Ulster BOCES had 238 young professionals participating in internships, including 63 paid ones, with numbers expected to increase as spring placements continue. The paid internships generate more than $14,175 per week in combined earnings for Ulster BOCES interns.
The workplace learning program provides students with the skills necessary to enter the workforce, and the internships allow students to navigate real-life work situations.
“Interns learn what it means to go to work,” said Sean Brix, the human resources manager at Viking Industries, one of Ulster BOCES’ industry partners. “By the end of the internship, they have learned critical work readiness and built up a network of people that can write letters of recommendation and make connections for them.”
Stephen Casa, the Assistant Principal of Career & Technical Education (CTE), said young professionals are also provided with exposure to the workplace environment through off-site workplace learning experiences and visits to local companies where they participate in solving workplace learning challenges proposed by industry partners.
“We are trying to create as many authentic learning experiences as possible,” said Casa, who also leads the workplace learning initiative at Ulster BOCES. “Ulster BOCES is positioned as a lead partner in workplace learning and workforce development in the county,” he says. “Over 500 graduates leave our programs ready to enter the workforce every year.”
The experience has helped shape John and Stephan’s post-graduation plans. The brothers are applying to colleges together and plan to pursue similar courses of study: Stephan plans to study civil engineering, and John plans to study civil engineering and technology. They both agree that they would like to come back to work at Optimum Windows.
John and Stephan are glad that they applied for the internship last year.
“My advice to students considering an internship is, ‘Don’t be scared to go beyond your comfort zone,” John Gatica said. “Try new opportunities; you never know where they might take you.”
