Summer Internship Program students celebrate success

It has been a busy, but valuable, time since the end of the school year for 14 Groton High School (GHS) students who participated in GHS’s Summer Internship Program.

Families and friends of the interns, internship sponsors, and members of the faculty, staff and Board of Education were present on the evening of Aug. 10 to attend a celebration that highlighted student interns at separate stations in the Groton Central School (GCS) STEAM Center. The event culminated in a lovely spread of hors d’oeuvres and sweet treats prepared by three of the students who took part in a culinary internship at the school.

The April 13 issue of this column (tinyurl.com/2fygd9xo) highlights GCS K-12 District Administrator Billie Downs and the plethora of grants she has been instrumental in obtaining for the district. This internship program was one of the many fruits of those efforts.

Emily Cargian, Michaela Canady and Rachel Houston spent their internship working under GCS Food Service Director Kelley Neville and were invaluable assets, according to Neville. They helped to prepare more than 8,000 free summer breakfasts and lunches for students and assisted in culinary-based enrichment programs for younger students.

Houston, who will be a senior this fall, also attends the Culinary Arts program at TST BOCES. She opted into the GCS internship because she thought it would give her extra experience in working on her knife skills and baking techniques.

“I have planned to attend either the Culinary Institute of America or Paul Smith College after high school,” Houston said. “But this experience totally determined my future for sure!”

Cargian and Canady will both be juniors this fall. Working with younger students had a different effect on each of them, but both were grateful for the experience.

“I knew I would be working with younger kids in the Baking Buddies and Top Chef programs, and I was excited about the hands-on opportunity because I want to be an elementary art teacher,” Canady said. “I also did an art internship this summer. Both programs opened my eyes to see how little kids think, and their imaginations are very cool.”

Cargian shared her thoughts.

“I know from this experience that I definitely do not want to work with kids,” Cargian said emphatically. “But it did solidify my future. Food is a career that will never go out of style because people will always have to eat!”

Cargian said that she has always had an interest in culinary arts from a very early age, thrives being behind the scenes doing the food prep and loves to see the reactions of people eating what she makes and appreciating it.

Also involved in a culinary internship was Maddie Perkins, who will be a junior this fall and has worked at the Bun Appetit Bakery & Café since October 2021. Thus, it was a perfect fit for her to do her internship there.

“I never dreamed in a million years that I would do something like this,” Perkins said. “But I have just loved talking to people and baking. I might pursue something in food service or the medical field where I can see and talk to people.”

Nick Gamel will be a junior this fall, and he was thrilled to do his internship at Rocco Design & Build in Ithaca because he wanted to learn about the design elements of construction.

“I got a lot of hands-on experience on actual job sites,” Gamel said. “I got to do cost estimating for building projects and learned to create a Gantt schedule that was actually used for a job.”

Gamel is not certain if he will pursue a career in the field. He also wants to consider becoming a commercial airline pilot because he has always loved planes and everything about them.

Peyton Brame, who will be a senior this fall, spent his internship at the Walsh Law Firm in Cortland. He said he has wanted to become a lawyer since he was very young.

“My parents got divorced when I was young, and I had to sit through many family court cases,” Brame said. “I am interested in either family court law because of that or criminal law because everyone deserves justice.”

Brame said he attended many court cases through his internship, did a lot of filing and wrote up legal notices, and it all made him realize how very passionate he is about pursuing his career path.

Aiden Avery and Drew Bush, both juniors this fall, did their internships in the information technology department right at GCS.

Avery said he “was only sort of interested in it at first but learning and experiencing it all was so much fun that now I know that’s what I want to do in life.”

“Everyone in my family are tech guys,” Bush said. “I grew up around it, plus I have done the lights for the school plays, but I learned so much through this like server and network management, Linux troubleshooting, database management and network infrastructure and planning.”

Bush said the experience confirmed for him that he wants to do this for the rest of his life.

Another junior this fall, Brynn Blasz, did her internship in digital media and arts. She was responsible for covering nearly all of the summer enrichment programs via photos and videos. They may be viewed on the Groton Central School District Facebook page, tinyurl.com/2h3s62sq.

“I learned a lot about different communication techniques, and I am very glad for this experience,” Blasz said. “I knew I wanted to pursue this field but not which part. I now know that I want to do screenwriting for films and movies.”

Delaney Ayer also did an internship in digital media and arts. Sharla Lockwood and Lia Perreault did theirs at Groton Head Start. Jayden Craig was at Loretta’s Spa and Salon in Groton, and Megan Cute was at the SPCA.

Although there was neither time nor space to interview them all, it was clear that all had amazing experiences and learned a great deal about themselves and their futures.

“I love working here at Groton,” Downs said. “We put our money where our mouth is and always put students first. I am so excited that we got to do this, and many thanks to all the parents for your support!”

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com or text or call Linda at (607) 227-4922.  

In brief: 
 
Groton Senior Club picnic 

The Groton Senior Club will hold its monthly lunch in the form of a picnic at Groton Memorial Park on Sykes Street on Aug. 24, beginning at 12:15 p.m. Grilled meat and musical entertainment will be provided, but please bring a dish-to-pass and your own place setting for the meal.

All are welcome, and the event is open to senior citizens from anywhere, not just Groton. Membership in the club is a $12 annual fee, but first-time attendees are under no obligation to join.

Library events 

The Groton Public Library (GPL) will host a free community picnic meal with entertainment by Josh Dwyer and his guitar at 6 p.m. Aug. 18. To-go picnic meals will also be available to take.

Dan The Snakeman and all his friends will be in the GPL at 6 p.m. Aug. 25. Come at 5:30 p.m. for a personal meet and greet with Dan!

Ask questions or learn more about either of these events by calling (607) 898-5055 or emailing director@grotonpubliclibrary.org.

Summer Concert Series 

The Summer Concert Series presented by Groton Recreation at the Groton American Legion pavilion on Main Street is winding down. Aug. 19 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. will feature Crystal Vision — a five-piece band with some of the most seasoned musicians in the central New York area. They bring a variety of classic rock, blues and country that will be sure to entertain all generations.

The MoMo’s Café food truck will also be on site, along with free seating and bathrooms available.