Contributed SCHOOL-TO-WORK — Jefferson County Joint Vocational School students Kaden Kontra and Raven Holloway completed internships with assistance from Building Bridges to Careers, which compensated them for their time in the School-to-Work program.

BLOOMINGDALE — Students are gaining on-the-job experience through their participation in the School-to-Work program at Jefferson County Joint Vocational School.

Seniors Kaden Kontra and Raven Holloway completed an unpaid internship program but were compensated thanks to a grant through Building Bridges to Careers, which reimbursed the students for their time in the field. Carina Aulicino, career/workforce specialist at the JVS, applied for and obtained the funding and said the program greatly benefitted the students.

“BB2C has received grants for multiple career explorations, ranging from mental health to construction projects in Appalachia. Upon acceptance of the student application student, BB2C determines what grant money they can use to pay the student and an amount. Each student received a check for different amounts,” she explained.

Aulicino added that approximately 45 students took part in the School-to-Work program and most of them were paid through the employers, but the grant enables those like Kontra and Holloway to gain experience in their chosen field. The grant requires students to work between 40 and 80 hours to receive reimbursement and they have far succeeded that number. She added that BB2C has been very helpful in making their opportunities happen.

“BB2C allows students to explore career options, get paid while interning, earn funding for transportation and find opportunities in their community. It is available to all fields and open to students in grades 9-12. Internships start at 40 hours and time is flexible. Those who hire interns can build a pipeline and teach students about the industry, plus the program is at no cost to the employer. Internships are available to all businesses with onboarding provided by BB2C, plus they are paid through grants and partnerships.”

She noted that some students are also documenting work-based learning hours on their own time during afternoons and weekends as part of their experience.

Kontra, the son of Carri Justice and Ryan Kontra of Mingo Junction and a student at Buckeye Local High School, studied in the electrical trades program and had a chance to put his skills to use at T.S. Electric in Richmond. He completed more than 100 hours by working Mondays to Wednesdays, spending about a month employed in a commercial building as part of his task. Kontra said the opportunity has helped prepare him for the workforce.

“They taught me ways to make my job easier in the field and I may work for a contractor after high school,” he added. “I like [the program] because it gests my name out in the field. I get to know people and I get hands-on experience like I get at the JVS.”

He added that his school training has also prepared him for his future.

“They prepared me on how to follow codes, about conduit bending, how to wire simple circuits and receptacles and dealing with transformers. I feel like I’ve done the best I could with preparing.”

Holloway, the daughter of Daniel and Darcy Holloway of Toronto and a student at Toronto High School, was a senior in the animal science program and worked at Heritage Veterinary Care in Hopedale each Thursday for several months. While there, she assisted professionals in the office. She said it was a great experience and it gave her a bird’s eye view of operations in her future career.

“I assisted with patients, cleaned up the clinic, observed surgeries and got to see the new equipment used in the clinic,” she added. “It was nice because I was able to see all of the high-quality equipment they use.”

Following graduation, Holloway plans to attend the Veterinary Tech Institute in Pittsburgh to become a vet tech.

“It’s definitely helped me get out there and I’m getting all of this experience from it,” she continued. “Heritage is a progressive place and I’m learning new things. It sets my expectations on how the clinical environment will be once I’m out of college.”

She noted that her time at JVS has also readied her for the future ahead.

“I felt pretty comfortable once I began working there because I was familiar with the terms and equipment (I learned about at JVS) and I learned a lot in the lab. I felt pretty prepared.”

Both said they would recommend the school-to-work experience to other students. For more information, go online to www.bb2careers.org/internships.