Shortly after 2:00 p.m., Christian Scott entered the library — but not to read.
Scott, 17, is a part of an internship initiative at Verrado that has seen students repair Chromebooks and install equipment with the hopes of landing a job in the fast-growing field of information technology.
“I have done block coding since I was a little kid, just to get me introduced to the idea, and I decided to take that for the first few years in high school,” Scott said, referring to the visual programming language Scratch.
Verrado’s technical operations, including Agua Fria Union High School District’s oft-decried network infrastructure, remained elusive even as students began to be integrated with district positions last year. After several vulnerabilities in the RTI system were discovered by a freshman near the end of 2021, Agua Fria Union administrators moved to coordinate with the student and the district’s I.T. department.
That relation has become more pertinent as Agua Fria Union faces an adaptive range of cybersecurity threats. Earlier this year, a cyberattack disrupted the district’s network, causing several critical systems to be brought offline for over a week. And in August, a phishing campaign claiming to offer part-time employment targeted students. In both incidents, student data was not believed to be compromised.
But as part of a broader effort to counter declining workforce participation, Agua Fria Union began offering internships to prospective system administrators in August, with strict requirements for applicants. Students must maintain a fair grade point average for the semester and attend their classes regularly.
“I took the internship primarily because I felt like there was still a lot to learn in the field of tech, especially the more hands-on stuff that we never learned in the two years of computer language classes,” Scott said. “I plan on using the knowledge I gain here to apply to entry level technical jobs and I hopefully will be able to leverage my prior education that this program provides”
The I.T. department has also engaged in public-facing communications with students, including an Instagram account, @afhsd_it, to provide technology advice that has involved the work of graphic design interns, including Ignacy Sanjik. Since the account began last August, it has garnered over 150 followers.
“Most of what we do does revolve around expanding our technical expertise but one thing that comes to mind is customer service abilities since we are basically working in that field,” Scott said. “Some examples are maintaining the designs that people have on their Chromebooks via stickers while still completing full repairs.”
The internship is still largely distanced from the Academies, a 10-year plan that will see a greater focus on technological fields — such as the burgeoning I.T. industry — at Verrado, and from West-MEC, which has its own I.T. program. But it is nonetheless a valuable opportunity for students who might otherwise balk at menial, résumé-building activities — and for Agua Fria Union, as the district seeks to make further partnerships.
“Internships bridge education with industry, creating valuable outcomes for students and schools,” Melinda Marchese, the work-based learning specialist at Agua Fria Union, said in a statement. “For students, it prepares them for careers with hands-on experience. For the school, it strengthens community and industry partnerships.”
The reception from students, in turn, has been positive. “I never would’ve been able to learn the process for printing so up close,” Oakley Oppedahl, a graphic design intern, said.
