Photos by BRANDON MCMULLEN

From L-R: Lacy Tiller at Slater Elementary during her elementary education internship. Jayson Graham working at his internship at Point S.

by Lauren Brown
for Burns Times-Herald

Burns High School (BHS) senior Merissa Medley is interested in detective work and investigation, so she jumped at the chance to participate in an internship at the Harney County Sheriff’s Office.

“I’ve always been the kind of person who appreciates law enforcement and what they do, so it’s just something that I’ve always been interested in,” she said.

The High Desert Partnership’s Youth Changing the Community Collaborative (YCTC) partnered with BHS to create the Harney Internship Program, which gives juniors and seniors a chance to work with local businesses to gain credit, knowledge, and experience in various career fields.

Internship program
Coordinator Denise Rose explained that the youth collaborative started three years ago, during the pandemic. High school students were having trouble obtaining the elective credits they needed because they were not able to attend classes in person. The collaborative, which started with a handful of students and businesses in the fall of 2020, has grown considerably in the last couple of years. Now, about 100 students have gone through the program.

Rose said most of the businesses she contacted have been enthusiastic about participating in the internship program.

“Our first semester, we had five students, but we had 15 businesses who wanted to take a student,” she said. “That ratio has continued. This spring, we have 26 students participating, and we have 40 businesses who are offering opportunities.”

Rose works with BHS teacher Roxane Bailey who serves as a liaison between the high school and YCTC. In this role, Bailey works with students to identify their interests and connect them with the right internship opportunity.

Students fill out an application and go through a screening process. Businesses then interview the students like they would during a typical hiring process.

Rose said, “Sometimes it’s a very formal interview, and other times it’s just talking to the student to see if they’ll work out.”

Students are required to keep track of their hours. Some internships are paid, and some are unpaid.

Rose said one student who was unsure about doing an internship mentioned that working on tractors and farm equipment is one of his hobbies. YCTC set him up with an internship at Kubota this year. He started off as an unpaid intern. However, after a few weeks, he was taking Kubota certification classes online. He is now on the payroll!

Other businesses taking on interns this semester include Harney District Hospital, Hometown Auto, ACW, and the Sheriff’s Office.

This is the first time that the Sheriff’s Office has participated in the YCTC internship program, and Harney County Jail Commander Roxane Worley said BHS senior Medley was the perfect candidate.

“We wanted to get more active in our local schools, and so we were taking steps to go in that direction,” Worley said.

The Sheriff’s Office met with Rose to develop the curriculum for an internship that would give students a good feel for the justice system. Interns spend two weeks in each department — including 9-1-1 dispatch, patrol, corrections, and parole and probation. Interns also spend time learning about the proceedings in the district attorney’s office as well as the justice and circuit courts.

“The criminal justice system is so glamorized on TV, so we wanted to bring a student in to get a broad overview of the justice system as a whole,” Worley said. “We want to make sure that they are making some educated decisions too. We want them to get the real view of what it looks like.”

Medley said she has really enjoyed the internship. She likes taking notes and having the opportunity to ask questions. Her favorite part has been going on patrol with deputies, but she was surprised by the amount of paperwork they must complete.

“When I was in the courthouse for circuit court and justice court, I expected a lot of paperwork, but I don’t think I realized how much paperwork the deputies have to do after driving around and figuring something out,” she said.

As part of the internship, Medley also did a mock interview.

“They just ran me through a normal interview, but they would stop to teach me how to answer the questions,” she said. “That will help prepare me for any kind of interview that I need to do in the future.”

After graduation, Medley plans to attend Treasure Valley Community College (TVCC), where she will play softball and take general studies classes. Then, she plans to transfer to Western Oregon University to complete her criminal justice degree and become a police officer.

The internship advanced her interest in the justice system.

“It’s really just made me want to do this job even more,” she said.

Medley is open to the idea of returning to Harney County once her schooling is complete.

“I’m not for certain on that, but I know this community much better than anywhere else, obviously,” she said.

Rose said this is one of the goals of the program.

“Underneath it all, it is our hope that students will start to learn about opportunities here, instead of just assuming that there’s nothing in Harney County for them,” she said.

Career exposure
Marcus Nichols teaches classes in natural resources at TVCC, and he said exposure to various career options at the high school level is key in helping students determine a career path.

“High school students go into careers that they know are there,” he said.

In Harney and Malheur counties, students have a lot of exposure to agriculture.

“A lot of their family members might work in ag as well as the medical field, so it seems like a lot of the students have that knowledge of those job opportunities.”

To introduce students to other career fields, YCTC hosted a career fair at the Harney County Fairgrounds in March. It was geared toward all high school age students in the county, and about 130 students turned out to hear from the 50 agencies that participated. Most of the agencies were from the science, natural resources, and medical fields. Rose said the success of the event prompted people to ask if they could broaden it to include other fields, such as education.

“We’re definitely going to make that an annual event because we had so much good feedback,” she said.

Nichols said that the career event provided more than just exposure to career fields.

“What made that event really special and unique is that we tried to connect training opportunities that would qualify those high school students for the careers that they were interested in,” he said. “We had different college programs that provided training and degrees for those different industries that they were learning about.”

Nichols believes internships are key in getting students exposure to and experience with a potential career. In fact, some TVCC degrees require internships to graduate.

“I’ve always viewed it as a great opportunity for students to get their foot in the door while they are still here,” he said. “We really work closely with industry to try and make sure those opportunities exist so that students can get their start before they leave college.”

Youth outreach
Rose said one of YCTC’s goals is to increase opportunities for youth from preschool age clear through and after high school graduation. She has been working with Hines Middle School teacher Bryce Tiernan, who teaches career electives.

“We’re [explaining] things like, ‘Here’s why you need a resume; here’s what a resume looks like; and here are some things you can put on a resume, even if you’ve never had a job,” Rose said.

They also held a mini career week, which featured a Harney County veterinary clinic, Doverspike Beef, PMC Arts and Culture Foundation, VooDoo Stitchery, and the Harney County Sheriff’s Department.

YCTC is also exploring ways to provide opportunities to grade school age students, at-risk teens who may need extra help finishing high school, and 18 to 24-year-olds who graduated high school but aren’t certain about a career path.

At a youth summit last fall, Rose said the YCTC featured locals who have made a conscious effort to return to Harney County for their careers. There were business owners, agency employees, and hospital employees.

“Even if your career pathway takes you to college, we want our students to know that they don’t absolutely have to be someplace else,” Rose said. “They can get their degree, get their experience for a couple of years, and return to live here and be part of what makes Harney County great.”