COUNTY News:

Los Alamos County has been awarded grant funding from the Public Education Department to operate a Student Enrichment Summer Program for adolescents (ages 16-18) in high school to include recent graduates.

The program will run 20 hours a week for six weeks.

Students will have the option to rotate through County Departments or stay in a department for the full 6-week duration.

Students will work with mentors identified within each participating Department to develop a general sense of the roles and responsibilities specific to the Department. Students will be assigned small projects and meaningful tasks to perform during the internship.

Ultimately, the intention is to provide real-world experiences that expand student’s knowledge of applicable academic, technical and employable skills in a work setting. Students will be exposed to a variety of tasks and managers, to provide them with a comprehensive understanding of the work within the local government.

During the youth focus groups conducted for the County’s Health Services Gap Analysis completed March of 2020, youth expressed the need for job opportunities and internships outside of fast food and LANL.

The Student Enrichment Summer Program will be overseen by Social Services Manager Donna Casados, who will serve as program coordinator. As program coordinator, Casados will be responsible for the initial onboarding student orientation in collaboration with other County staff, recruitment of County mentors, and serve as the liaison between mentors and students.

The County feels this will be a meaningful and fulfilling opportunity for students to get an inside view of how County government works. Students will be required to complete a County application, which can be accessed through the County Human Resources website. The job posting is expected to be listed Friday, May 21, and remain open to receive applications until June 3.

Direct questions, to Casados at donna.casados@lacnm.us or 505.662.8312.