Businesses help Saint Viator with work study program
As a 1988 graduate of Saint Viator High School, Tom O'Neill - CEO of the Würth Group in Vernon Hills - wanted to support the school's Summer Work Study and Internship Program. What he got in hiring Alex Horne of Buffalo Grove last summer was a much bigger return on his investment than O'Neill ever expected.
"I have to say, Alex did more for our company than we did for Alex," O'Neill says. "His attitude and willingness to take on new projects changed the culture of our IT department."
Alex started with sorting documents but he quickly moved up to resizing images to fit Google's size requirement, and learning HTML in order to code large images on the company's website.
He also earned valuable dollars toward his tuition this year. Saint Viator's innovative program places interns at work sites of participating business partners who contribute $3,000 toward the student's tuition.
Saint Viator always seeks to add more corporate partners. This year's list includes Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in Rolling Meadows, Directions AV in Schaumburg, Kelleher & Buckley in North Barrington, Lavelle Law in Palatine, Midwest Glaucoma Center in Hoffman Estates, Rose Packing Company in South Barrington, UHY Advisors, a CPA firm in Chicago and TransTech IT Staffing in Itasca, to name a few.
Nonprofits include Catholic Charities in Des Plaines, Faith Community Homes in Arlington Heights and Journeys and the Road Home in Palatine.
Nonprofit jobs are sponsored by generous individuals, like former parent and board of trustee member Loren Trimble, who cannot provide jobs themselves but want to support the program.
At each site, students work five, eight-hour days for a period of six weeks during the summer. Ideally, Saint Viator tries to pair the student with a company or organization that reflects the student's interest.
Take the internship at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a global insurance broker and risk management firm. This will be the third summer that Gallagher has taken on a Saint Viator intern. In the past, they have worked in human resources, as well as in the sales department, assisting with requests from large accounts for insurance quotes and proposals.
"We want to provide a working environment that gets them accustomed to the expectations of global organization," says Marcus Henthorn, area vice president, "by providing them with project-based deadlines, requiring them to work with multiple teams, and giving them the Fortune 500 experience while they are in still in high school."
Gallagher already had an established sales internship in place for college students in which to draw from for this high school experience.
"Our goal is to provide them with a paired down version of our college summer internship program," says Eric Taylor, director of global talent management, "so they can take their experiences to the next level and be ahead of their peers."
Frank Patzke, owner of Guidant Wealth Advisors in Palatine, is bringing on a Saint Viator intern for the first time this summer. As the father of two Saint Viator graduates, he was drawn to helping other young people afford tuition, and he also sought to introduce the financial industry to an interested student.
"We see it as an opportunity to let a high school student see what the professional work environment is all about," Patzke said, "and get a sense of what it is to work in a small business."
Companies or individuals interested in sponsoring a Saint Viator intern should contact Kirsten Nozime, coordinator of the Summer Work Study and Internship Program, at (847) 392-4050, ext. 268, or svcwsp@saintviator.com.
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