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Stories of Success

“How our internship led to a meeting with the Governor.”

From Kiara Ward:
Our school program allowed myself, Kiara Ward, and two of my classmates, Silke Comia and Kevin Ayala to take a tour at the Governor's office with our mentor Odalys Carmona. We were told that we may have the opportunity to meet Governor Sandoval himself, which I was honestly a bit skeptical of considering we were three high school students on a tour. However when we were walking into the office all of us were excited and taking pictures.

We were introduced to our tour guide, Sonia Hoya, and were shown the different offices that worked closely with the Governor, we even got to peek into the empty conference room where press announcements are made and took a picture by the podium! Sonia had us wait out in the hallway for a moment while she checked to see if Brian Sandoval was busy, she came back and said to come on in the office. There we met and shook hands with Governor Sandoval, he then offered us the Governor's coin, a long standing tradition in Nevada, with the governor's face on one side and the Nevada state seal on the other. We were able to talk to him for a moment about our program that allowed us to gain work experience and discover what career path we may want to follow. Lastly we were able to take a picture behind his desk between the state and country flags before leaving to Sonia's office to end our tour with a question and answer session.

We talked about many things including different presidential candidates and the gas crisis of the 70's. The field trip was an exceptional experience that I will remember for a long time and I will always have the Governor's coin to remember it.

From Kevin Ayala:
My trip to the governor's office was a unique event that I will always remember. I am glad that I am having many doors being opened through my experiences of being an intern for DETR. These experiences have allowed for me to be more motivated to have a very bright future. I was able to personally meet Governor Brian Sandoval through a field trip that our supervisor was able to set up. I and two other interns were able to talk with him for a few minutes. In the end he presented us with a governor's coin that he said he only gives out on special occasions and to special people. This coin will always carry the memory of meeting a state governor. The governor allowed us to take a picture with him that will also remind me of this experience.

I also learned that there is a chance of the economy getting better by the time I start to attend college. I hope that it does as it can make my years through college easier. I am grateful that I am getting the tools and experience that I need for being successful. Another important thing that I learned was that doing the small things can really make a difference.

Being an intern is a really great way to get some experience in the real world. It gives me an idea on what to do after I graduate high school. If it weren't for my internship I would have never been able to meet the governor. He was a really nice person and he was easy to approach. I want to thank DETR and my supervisor Odalys Carmona for all the experience that I have gained. I know that all these experiences will be very helpful for my future.

ABOUT PAL (Partnership at Las Vegas) PROGRAM
PAL is a school-to-work program at Las Vegas High School that provides internship experiences to juniors and seniors to prepare them for careers and technical programs at college. To learn more, contact the school at 702-799-0180.

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