APS District News

APS Interns to Share Impact of Experience During Fall Final Exhibition

Posted December 2, 2024, 6:00 AM. Updated December 12, 2024, 4:41 PM.

Event set for Dec. 11.

As a senior at La Cueva High School, Mustafa Alismaeli seized the opportunity to become a paid intern in Albuquerque Public Schools’ Educational Technology Department.

“I saw that APS was doing an internship program, so I signed up for it,” Alismaeli said. “I was an intern under Aaron Jaramillo in EdTech for about a year, and I enjoyed that. I gained a lot of experience working in an office environment with a team.”

A year later, he’s a freshman at the University of New Mexico studying computer science. 

The internship exposed him to what people in the technology field do day to day and reinforced his belief that a career in that field might be a good fit for him.

He still has a part-time job at APS, but these days, he’s helping to manage about 300 APS interns and another 400 near-peer students–those tutoring classmates. 

It’s part of the APS Career Connected Learning department’s work-based learning initiative, which strives to help students find a career they’re passionate about through internships and other experiences.

On Dec. 11, those interns will demonstrate what they’ve learned and discuss how the experience has benefited them as part of the Interns’ Fall Final Exhibitions. The event, which is open to everyone, will feature a potluck, along with student-led mariachi and cheer performances.

Alismaeli said the internship had a profound impact on him.

“It was my first time working in an office environment,” he said. Besides exposing him to how a large organization manages computers, printers and other technology, it helped him develop strong communication and life skills, he added.

Alismaeli said it also looks good on his resume, and he’s confident it will help him tap into other opportunities.

Dylan Robinson, a Cibola High graduate and one of the original nine APS interns, said internship programs can be a life-changing opportunity for students. Like Alismaeli, Robinson is currently a UNM student who is working with this year’s APS interns. 

“These programs not only provide financial support to many struggling and homeless APS students and their families, but also offer valuable resources for students to explore their interests, whether in mechanics, engineering, law, business, agriculture, trade, or other fields,” he said. “The programs give students a chance to expand their potential and leave with a sense of accomplishment.”

Asked what he’d tell APS students who aren’t sure they want to pursue an internship in high school, Alismaeli said he’d urge them to take the plunge.

“It doesn’t hurt to do it,” he said. “We work around your schedule, so we’ll find you an internship that’s tailored to the career you’re interested in, and we’ll work your schedule into it because school comes first.”