Bayou La Batre teams with ExxonMobil for Student Internship Program
Program has provided more than $300,000 for Alabama interns
BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. — August 11, 2010 — This week marks the successful completion of Bayou La Batre’s first-ever college student internship program. The ExxonMobil Foundation’s Community Summer Jobs Program partnered with the city to offer four college students $2,500 each during an 8-week summer internship with Bayou La Batre City Hall.
While the city’s high-school students have participated in ExxonMobil’s Community Summer Jobs Program in the past, this year was the first time college students were eligible to gain such practicable experience.
This year’s interns, who all have ties to Bayou La Batre, were Jeanett Bosarge, who is attending the University of South Alabama in Mobile; Keri Sims, who is attending Springhill College in Mobile; Mark Harris, who is attending University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss.; and Justin Oubre, who is attending Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn. Interns are chosen from a pool of applicants, who must be full-time students enrolled in at least 12 credit hours.
The program immerses students in city leadership including administration, public works, the legal system, and community relations. Students who complete the program often return the investment by taking jobs in
Bayou La Batre.
“This internship is an all around win-win for the city as well as the students,” says Donna Gainey, City Clerk. “We had one student who didn’t realize he wanted to be in city government until he completed this program.”
Gainey says students this year were especially helpful in fielding calls about oil spill updates. “Our phone lines were ringing constantly, and these students handled incoming calls professionally, pointing people in the right direction.”
Exxon says an investment in the people of Bayou La Batre is a good faith investment in the city’s economic future.
"The Community Summer Jobs Program gives us a unique opportunity to support non-profit groups while offering valuable experience to participating college students," said Suzanne McCarron, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. "This program benefits not only the students and non-profit groups, but it also makes a difference in the lives of our neighbors who are served by these agencies. ExxonMobil Foundation is proud of its continued partnership with local organizations, such as the city of Bayou La Batre, which allows us to invest in this community and its future leaders."
In 2010, ExxonMobil provided grants totaling more than $42,000 to support this program in Alabama. Since 1994, ExxonMobil has provided grants totaling approximately $56,000 to the City of Bayou La Batre to provide internships for 28 high-school students and has provided grants totaling approximately $318,000 to fund 180 student internships in Alabama.
About the City of Bayou La Batre, Ala.
Historic Bayou La Batre is a charming fishing village located along the shores of the Mississippi Sound on the Gulf of Mexico in south Mobile County, Ala. Known in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a resort town with medicinal spring water, Bayou La Batre is now recognized as the seafood capital of Alabama and is part of the Alabama Coastal Connection and the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail. www.visitbayoulabatre.com
Media Contact: Allison Barnes
Panorama Public Relations
allison@prview.com
205-328-9334 ext. 9
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