Summer Jobs Program at Village Hall Offers Work Experience to Qualified Teens

Many teens spend their summers getting some much-deserved R and R.

Not 17-year-old Elizabeth Herrera.

She is one of seven high school students working part-time at Romeoville through a partnership between the village and .

“We really do have an excellent working relationship with Valley View School District,” said Mayor John Noak. “This is a great program that provides students the opportunity to gain work experience and develop skills while learning more about the community.”

Herrera, who works as an intern for Assistant Village Manager Dawn Caldwell, shares the mayor’s enthusiasm for the program.

“I actually really like it,” she said. “They have a lot of hard work to do. I’m surprised they trust students so much.”

Initially, Herrera sorted building permits but her current duties include creating Excel files for the Veterans Parkway fence project. She sees her employment as a natural extension of her introduction to business through the Business Professionals of America Club at RHS.

“I want to go into the business field,” Herrera said. “Working here shows me how the different majors that I could go into relate to real life.”

Depending on her ultimate course of study, Herrera said, she would definitely consider pursuing a career with a municipality.

Some of Herrera’s fellow interns work inside Village Hall, while others work outdoors.

“The responsibilities differ for each department,” said Doris Mann, human resources manager for the village. “There is laserfiche being done, filing, copies being made, files being set up, ball field maintenance and computer work.”

Students are selected for the program after they complete an application at school and submit it to their counselor.

“Then the counselors and teachers review the applications, and each student is rated on how well they did in school, their grades and interaction with teachers and fellow classmates,” Mann said. “The village then chooses an applicant based on the school’s rating system.”

Mann sees the program as beneficial for both the village and the interns.

“The village is having a chance to mentor and work with students who have never worked before,” she said. “The students are getting the experience of working for someone and learning new skills and relationships.

“They are also helping meet our needs in the different departments regarding clerical duties. It also gives them a chance to learn to budget their money, since this is the first job for most of the applicants. Hopefully, we are teaching them responsibility and the start of a good work ethic for them.”

Noak sees the summer internships as a way to stay in touch with the perspective of young people, who someday will become end users of many village activities and services.

“This program stems out of our ongoing effort to do more outreach to the youth community and give them opportunities for the future, connect to them and have ongoing dialogue. ” he said. “We’re just starting. We hope to do other initiatives in the future as we’re able to.”

Herrera encourages other students to take advantage of the summer jobs program.

“This is really worthwhile,” she said. “So if any students are thinking about doing it, they should.”