South Hills High School student Italia Jalomo, 18, picked up welding with her father — who works with metals. She learned to get the job done on her second day observing him — she’s a “hands-on learner,” she said.
“I’ve done welding with my dad and my uncle, who own their little gate company. I’ve done that before with them. And ever since I did that, I really enjoyed it,” Jalomo said. “People will say that’s not a woman’s job. I’ve been tied down so many times about that. But I make myself happy. I think women should be a part of anything that they can do.”
Jalomo’s father encourages her to pursue welding while also having a back-up plan.
“He told me not to get into it forever. Because you know how the whole thing messes up your eyes. So, I plan on doing that, and then after that, see where it goes,” Jalomo said. She wants to find a hands-on job where she fixes things like an electrician, she said.
The district offered the Fort Worth ISD Internship Fair on April 14. Daphne Rickard, executive director of Career and Technical Education at Fort Worth ISD, said she hopes seniors find post-graduation internships and juniors line up internships for their senior year.
South Hills High School parent specialist Miriam Rodriguez chaperoned her students to Fort Worth ISD’s Teaching and Learning Center, 1050 Bridgewood Drive.
Rodriguez was keen to help her students find an internship in fields they’re interested in.
“I’m excited because these kids are not the traditional, ‘I’m going to go to college’ kids. For the most part, these kids are like, ‘I don’t even know what I want to do,’” Rodriguez said. “I’m trying to get them open to different options. Let’s land them a good paying job where their skills will be showcased.”
Fort Worth ISD hopes to host future internship fairs in the coming years, Rickard said.
