LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) – A City of Lima program is helping local high school students explore career opportunities without having to leave their hometown.
The GenNext Summer Internship Program matches students with businesses that align with their interests, giving them up to 120 hours of paid, hands-on experience during the summer. The goal is to expose youth to potential career paths while providing valuable job skills. Ali Weber, a GenNext intern at ArtSpace Lima, shared some of the work she's been doing.
“I have been working here at ArtSpace, helping put together a show, fixing the walls, painting the walls,” she said.
Kevion Grant, in his second year with the program, said his placement at ArtSpace also fit well with his passions.
“I was just chosen to come here, but it did align with me when I do photography and stuff,” he said. “So, yeah, that’s how I got here.”
Sally Windle, executive director at ArtSpace Lima, said the interns contribute in many ways.
“There’s a lot of things that we do during the summer—camps and different people coming in for tours. They’ve been able to help us with that,” Windle said. “But then they also are learning a skill. There’s a lot of things that we do here that they could do in other jobs, like patch walls, repair items. They’re learning all of that as part of their program.”
This year, eight students are participating in the GenNext program. Two are interning with the City of Lima, four are placed at Mercy Health–St. Rita’s Medical Center, one is at Family Promise of Lima-Allen County, and two are working at ArtSpace.
