“I am interested in how the government works and asked a lot of questions in my Social Studies class at Job Corps,” Dawnyetta G. stated.  “My SIATech instructor told me about the Young Legislators Internship Program that other students on center were involved in and I decided to apply.”

“SIATech San Diego established this program last year and it is designed to establish a connection between our students and local, state, and federal legislative offices,” advised SIATech Social Studies Instructor Luke Sponsler.  “Students learn the process and mechanics of local government and forge relationships that could prove beneficial for life after graduation.  They learn workplace skills and a deeper understanding of the political process.  Students are exposed to a wide range of careers and it fits with SIATech’s mission of Real Learning for Real Life ®.”

Students undertook a rigorous selection process and were interviewed by representatives from U.S. Congressman Bob Filner, Congresswoman Susan A. Davis, California Assemblywoman Mary Salas, and California State Senator Denise Ducheny’s offices.  During the past year, ten Job Corps students served as interns at these government offices.

”Dawnyetta is our third Job Corps intern and they have all been great,” advised Jessica Gomez, Community Representative for Congressman Filner.  “We were looking for interns with computer skills and all three students were in the Computer Career Technical Training program at Job Corps,” she added, and they have helped us enormously.”

“This has been a wonderful experience for me,” Dawnyetta stated. “I’ve learned a lot about the government and saw how it’s ‘people to people’ at Congressman Filner’s office. I even got a chance to see First Lady Michele Obama in person.  I was standing very close to her and that’s something I’ll never forget.”