Author photo

By Candie Fix
Managing Editor 

Local youth spend summer interning

 

(Courtesy photo)

PHILLIPS COUNTY youth involved in Ogallala Commons internships this summer are pictured during a recent retreat in Texas (l-r), Gage Sprague, Jeff Miner, Victoria Hatton, Kylie Purkeypile, Tanley Andersen, Aly Lock and Tayla Martin.

Two Haxtun High School students and one recent graduate are taking part in Ogallala Commons internships this summer; Aly Lock, Jeff Miner and Tanley Andersen are all working at local businesses over the next few weeks. Several other youth, from the Holyoke area, are also involved in internships throughout Phillips County.

Ogallala Commons is a non-profit organization that provides education and leadership to build vibrant communities in the Great Plains region; the service area is centered over the High Plains Ogallala Aquifer but also extends west into the Rocky Mountains and east to the river-braided prairies.

According to the organization's website, Ogallala Commons is directed by a nine-member board of directors assisted by an advisory council and small staff who follow the vision of building an operational community resource network.

Internships through Ogallala Commons provide a unique work experience and hometown career exploration for high school students, college students and adults in continuing an education program or career change. These internships enable rural communities to utilize the skills of their youth and adults while inspiring home-grown talent to return in the future to live, work, play and raise families.

Andersen, who is in her fourth summer as an Ogallala Commons intern, is working with the local Haxtun Chamber of Commerce. Some of her duties include event marketing, Chamber marketing and Chamber membership. Andersen will work on flyers and Facebook posts for the upcoming Old-Fashioned Saturday Night, help with the day of the event and also begin the process of creating flyers and other materials for Haxtun's Country Christmas slated for later this year.

The 2021 Haxtun High School graduate will also focus her time on marketing the Chamber organization through social media, updating the existing website as well as offering logo design services, presentations and updating membership information for the local Chamber.

Miner, who will be a senior at Haxtun High School this fall, plans to split his internship time between Prairie IT and Retread Threads. He will assist Prairie IT with overall business practices, the production process, software technology and also work on the website and digital marketing design and development.

While at Retreat Threads, Miner's duties including day-to-day operations of a local non-profit business.

Lock, an upcoming junior at Haxtun High School, will spend her time interning at Haxtun Health. She will participate and observe the general running of the physical therapy clinic including educating patients with warm up equipment as well as learning fundamentals and the application of HIPPA patient privacy.

While at Haxtun Health, Lock will also gain an overview of physical therapy modalities and treatment techniques as well as an overview of charting and medical documentation as it applies to physical therapy.

Holyoke interns include Gage Sprague, Victoria Hatton, Kylie Purkeypile and Tayla Martin. The seven Phillips County interns recently spent three days in orientation in Channing, Texas and were accompanied by Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Director Holly Ferguson.

For additional information on Ogallala Commons internships and other programs through the organization, visit ogallalacommons.org.

 

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