This summer, Alignment was fortunate enough to partner with ALTA, Elgin Sweeper, ITW Shakeproof, and the Village of Bartlett to provide several promising high school students with the opportunity to spend 60 hours in “hands on” exploration of large equipment maintenance, manufacturing, mechanical engineering, and welding careers.
One high school intern from District 301 working at Elgin Sweeper, Reiker Cho, stated, “At Elgin Sweeper, it didn’t matter how much I knew from class. It mattered how I was able to apply different skills and adapt to new techniques to get the job done. It was a good challenge to see where I had strengths and where I need to improve.” Reiker was able to gain 60 hours of experience with Elgin Sweeper’s experienced welders showcasing what knowledge he brought from the Hampshire High School welding program, a regional program offered to both District 300 and 301 students. Reiker was so successful that Elgin Sweeper extended his experience for the full summer.
For the first time working in partnership with the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) Foundation, ALTA offered two experienced automotive students from U-46’s South Elgin High School the opportunity to transition their skills to the large equipment maintenance industry. “You have to think about what you’re doing. You have to find the problem half the time, and it’s not always just right in front of you.” says Jonathan (John) Cowley, one of two interns at Alta Equipment Company. John worked with the ALTA maintenance team to both assemble and disassemble heavy machinery and provide repairs when needed. Both interns commented they would love to keep working with the mechanics at ALTA having a passion for both the automotive and large equipment maintenance industries.
As always, Alignment would like to thank our partner organizations involved in this sector of the summer internship program. Each individual company played an integral role in the establishment and recruitment of these promising high school students. Alignment hopes to provide even more opportunities next summer for another group of students hoping to expand their career experiences.
Thank you to Alignment’s interns for documenting through presentations, news releases, photos and videos the experiences of our 82 interns.
Left to right in photo:
Maison Preuss, Larkin High School
Emaad Dar, Bartlett High School
Jasmine Fox, Bartlett High School
Bryanna Cole, Elgin High School
ACE is a member of the Alignment USA communities of collaboration and collective impact.
