Two dozen Taylor Independent High School students recently graduated from a summer internship at Samsung Austin Semiconductor where they worked with industry professionals, sponsors said.
The 24 interns joined a total of 138 college and high school students honored at a graduation ceremony July 24.
Several public officials including former Taylor City Council members Gerald Anderson and Mitch Drummond, former Taylor Mayor Brandt Rydell and Williamson County Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles attended the ceremony.
“When we began pursuing Samsung, we talked often about investment, jobs, infrastructure and tax base. Those things matter,” Rydell said. “But (July 24) was a reminder that transformational projects can also be measured by the opportunities they create for our young people.”
He added, “Perhaps the most enduring part of a $44 billion investment isn’t what makes the headlines. It’s the opportunity that changes the trajectory of a young person’s life.”
Not long after officials with the South Korean multinational company announced in November 2021 a fabrication plant was coming to Taylor, the internships also were touted.
Samsung opened an Austin plant in the 1990s.
Through Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s partnership with Taylor ISD, students work alongside engineers, technical experts and business professionals, while also gaining hands-on experience years before their peers begin college, officials said.
The college interns – 114 of them – came from 21 different schools.
During the summer, each of the collegiate interns were “entrusted with meaningful projects that support real business needs, from machine learning and process optimization to software development, manufacturing, infrastructure, environmental and human resources initiatives,” according to a prepared statement.
