News release, Sept. 8, 1999

Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release
Georgia Department of
Labor
Suite 642 148 International Boulevard N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1751 (404)656-3032

September 8, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INTERNS LEARN ABOUT STATE GOVERNMENT'S WORLD OF WORK

ATLANTA -- State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said today that the 84 students from throughout Georgia who participated in a highly-successful summer internship program sponsored by the Georgia Department of Labor received "invaluable experience in a real work environment."

About 675 students from colleges and technical institutes across Georgia applied for the department's first summer internship program. Those selected spent eight weeks at labor department offices around the state learning about the world of work and how a state governmental agency operates.

"The internship offered hands-on experience, flexibility and the opportunity to learn how government works," said Derrick Harden, a graduate of South Atlanta High School, who became the first person in the history of the department to serve as an intern to a state labor commissioner.

"I worked in a different office every week -- the commissioner's, finance, budget, contracts, job training, information services and unemployment insurance," said Harden, who planned to enroll in the freshman class at Emory University this year.

"We wanted the interns to get a feel for the things we do in the department," said Joe Larche, assistant to the commissioner and coordinator of the intern program. "Each of our field service offices had at least one intern and the central office had several."

In addition to gaining valuable experience in a real work environment, the program offered additional school credit and $240 each week to the students. The interns worked with department staff in an area of career interest, and emphasis was placed on complementing the students' classroom learning with professional work experience.

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Georgia Department of Labor - Press Release

The internships were available to students currently enrolled in, or accepted to a college, university or technical institute in Georgia, or to a Georgia resident enrolled in, or accepted to a similar school in another state.

One of these is Esther Cook of Mableton, a rising senior at Emory & Henry, a Methodist-affiliated college in Emory, Virginia. Cook worked in the Communications Office, writing news media advisories, press releases and stories for The Communicator. "I've learned a world of things, and spending time 'hands on' can surpass what an entire college education can teach you," said Cook, who is a communications major.

Another intern who had a productive summer is Jarrod Burch of Sylvester, a political science major at Albany State University. He worked in the Intergovernmental Relations Office and learned about such programs as federal bonding, Jobs for Georgia Graduates ( JGG), the Youth Motivational Task Force (YMTF), and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

"In an age where government gets demoralized by the media, it's heartwarming to know that the bulk of Georgia's government is honest and has the good of the state as a top priority," said Burch.

NEWS MEDIA NEEDING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SHOULD CALL THE GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS AT (404) 656-3032.

E-mail: communications@dol.state.ga.us.

FY-00-127

An Equal Opportunity Employer

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