Students, graduates complete internships
AUSTIN — Tessa Kopecky is confident about her future.
The Taylor High School senior-to-be was one of the keynote speakers at the Samsung Internship Graduation ceremony Friday morning at Samsung Austin Semiconductor in Austin. Kopecky said she “found her voice” during this internship.
“Beyond the technical knowledge, I developed something more valuable – confidence in a professional environment,” Kopecky said. “I found my voice whether it was speaking up in meetings or asking questions if I didn’t understand something.
I became more comfortable navigating in my own office space.”
Kopecky was one of 24 incoming or outgoing seniors who participated in the program. The Samsung Internship program is open to Taylor Independent School District students who graduated in May or will be seniors in the fall.
“I was nervous at first, but excited that I would be making real money. This internship turned into so much more than I ever could’ve expected,” Kopecky said. “From Day One, people took the time to teach and guide me. Employees took me out to the field, showed me around and helped me understand what was really happening behind the scenes. That hands-on experience gave me a real appreciation for the responsibility of this workload.”
To be eligible for the internship program, students must submit their transcripts and have a letter of recommendation from a Taylor ISD faculty member. One intern, Legacy High School graduate Eva Neill, learned that she will start working at Samsung as a full-time technician.
“I had no idea how this would end up,” Neill said. “I picked the field that seemed the most interesting and cursor caught my interest.”
For Neill, this summer was her second as a Samsung intern.
Another keynote speaker — Taylor Mayor Dwayne Ariola — reminded the interns of how fortunate they are to have an opportunity like this.
“Internships, when I was your age, were going to chop cotton, going to bag groceries at HEB or working in the construction business or catering,” Ariola said.
“There was no hightech exposure to these fantastic jobs. Thank you, Samsung, for this opportunity.”
In addition to Neill and Kopecky, 22 other students completed their internships. They were Larkin Abbott, Jose Aguilar, Stephanie Aguilar, Ignacio Alderete, Noeli Arias, Ryder Bass, Elinor Brinkmeyer, Walter Calvac, Andrea Camarena, Seth Johnson, Emma Liles, Katherine Mejia, Eamon Neas, Grace Philhower, Mason Ruemke, Ursula Rydell, Adrik Suarez, Grayson White, Mason Zana and Ava Zuno.
“I’ve learned technical skills that I know will stay with me for a really long time,” Kopecky said. “I’m incredibly thankful to have had been a part of something so amazing and so much bigger than myself.”
