Annually, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS) hires interns from Albuquerque’s Rio Grande High School JAG program. This year 2 interns, Michael Figueroa and Alex Gonzalez, had the opportunity to extend their internships with the NMDWS Workforce Technology Division (WTD) through December. As a part of their internship they participated in a presentation at the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central New Mexico (BBBS-CNM) annual STEM Discovery Festival in November. The fair hosted thousands of K-12 students from all over New Mexico that came to learn about STEM related careers.
Both interns were tasked to work with WTD staff to create a mini network that demonstrated both front end and back end components of a new NMDWS online financial budgeting tool that Figueroa helped create over the summer as a part of his internship. The new website titled “Why I Work” (www.dws.state.nm.us/whyiwork)
Both Alex and Michael worked all day explaining and demonstrating to festival participants how the network communicated to provide functionality for the new website through the use of code and a SQL database. They also worked together to create a visual display with a diagram of how the mini-network worked, as well as a list of jobs/occupations that exist in NM state government tied to the field of Information Technology. The fair served as a great opportunity for the interns to show off what they are learning in their internship and understand the importance of career experiences as they continue to develop their own pathways.
