Published: February 23, 2022
Matthew Sanchez remembers being in middle school, when his mom asked him if he’d thought about what he wanted to do when he grew up. She suggested civil engineering.
When he got to John Hersey High School, he enrolled in the Introduction to Engineering class his freshman year. Almost right away, he decided he was indeed interested in engineering, but maybe mechanical, rather than civil, engineering.
So when he received an email about opportunities to explore engineering careers as an intern, he signed up. The District 214 internship program matched him with an opportunity in the engineering department of the Village of Arlington Heights.
The District 214 program offers students traditional (60-hour) or micro (30-hour) internships at a variety of local businesses, and in almost every career pathway. The goal is to help students explore career opportunities as they make decisions about their lives after high school graduation. Internships are unpaid, but students earn school credit (.5 credit for a regular internship, and .25 for a micro-internship).
During fall semester, Matthew completed his 30-hour micro-internship. “The internship solidified my interest in engineering,” he says. He worked with the village engineering team after school, two or three times a week, inputting data, working with software and more.
“I liked the job, and felt I was a real engineer,” he says. “Doing an internship can be hard to fit in with AP classes and extracurricular, but it is definitely worth it.”
Matthew’s been accepted to Purdue University’s top-notch mechanical engineering program, and is waiting to hear soon from the University of Illinois. His goal: an engineering job perhaps in product design in the energy sector, or automotive.
For more information about the District 214 internship program, visit https://www.d214.org/Page/2108. Or apply for an internship at https://d214.smapply.io. The application deadline for summer and fall internships is March 18.