Forty-three high school students recently returned to school for their senior years after a summer of working at jobs throughout the city as part of the Richardson Mayor’s Summer Internship Program.

The program, which is in its fourth year, allows students to gain invaluable real-world experience during eight weeks of paid summer employment. This summer, interns worked at 26 local businesses, nonprofits and government agencies.

“It was really fun to learn all of the things I was able to do, and what I wanted to do later on in life and what I didn’t want to do,” said Richardson High School’s Ella Gray, who interned in RISD’s Office of Career and Technical Education. “[I learned] the good and the bad aspects of working in a job and in an office building.”

For interns such as Richardson High School’s Tasmuna Omar, this was their first work experience, allowing them to gain a glimpse of what it is like in the working world.

“It was really interesting to work in a professional environment that I had never been in and to work with so many different departments,” said Omar, who interned with UT Dallas’ Office of Facilities Management. “I really enjoyed working with the Office of Sustainability because I am interested in climate change and it was good to make an impact in something I believe in.”

In addition to the work the interns completed at their jobs, they also took part in a service project. In early August, interns spent a week at Network of Community Ministries filling bags with healthy snacks the interns collected through their Healthy Kids Snack Drive. The 1,800 bags were distributed to RISD students along with backpacks containing school supplies and other back-to-school essentials as part of the Backpack Bash at Richardson ISD.

“It was really cool to see how Richardson helps its community and how it joins together with businesses and nonprofits to get everyone back to school safe and sound,” said Cameron Conard, a Plano Senior High student who interned at the Richardson Police Department.

Applications for the 2022 Richardson Mayor’s Summer Internship Program will be accepted in early 2022.

For more information, students should contact their school counselors or visit www.rmsip.org.