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June 9, 2022By Carissa Krautscheid
This past semester, over 350 students from San Miguel High School participated in work study jobs at 82 businesses and organizations across southern Arizona. One or two days a week, each student ventures off campus to work in real-world professional settings. This community-wide collaboration is providing these local Catholic high schoolers with professional experience and important life skills.
One such San Miguel student, Camille ‘24, was an intern with the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson. Every Tuesday, Camille came to work smiling. The work study program gave her the opportunity to take a break during the school week and hone new skills.
“Camille was a joy to have in the Foundation office,” said Elizabeth Bollinger, Director of the Catholic Foundation. “She brought a great attitude each week and was willing to learn new tasks.”
During her internship, Camille performed various office tasks such as filing, data entry, making packets, setting up for board meetings, and sitting in on weekly staff meetings.
“The Catholic Foundation really needed some administrative support so our team could concentrate on other tasks,” said Elizabeth. “Having Camille allowed us to get ahead and start working on new opportunities.”
Before she began working with the Catholic Foundation, Camille didn’t know anything about the organization. “Now I know that the Catholic Foundation helps raise funds to give out to the parishes and schools. And when I was doing death certificates, I realized that every individual person who is a part of the Church is known.”
Camille’s career interests range from business and management to fundraising and law. Her internship with the Catholic Foundation was a great opportunity to gain experience in most of those areas, as well as to network with professionals. Camille also learned about grants, fundraising, and event planning for the Foundation’s annual gala. She learned communication skills such as how to respectfully advocate for herself and how to work well with others.
Camille enjoys San Miguel’s work study program. “It gives me an experience that other schools don’t provide,” she said. “Now I have professional work experience. It’s pretty cool to have work experience that I wouldn’t have normally as a high schooler.”
“I used to think that work was such a scary environment,” Camille thought, looking back, “but I came to the Catholic Foundation and it's nothing like that. They are friendly and share personal stories with one another. I enjoy coming to work! I feel like I’m very respected and not overlooked even though I’m young. They’re willing to teach me their programs and structures.”
The Catholic Foundation staff also appreciated working with Camille. “We enjoyed hearing about her experience at San Miguel and getting to know her,” said Elizabeth.
“Working with the San Miguel program was so easy. It is so well organized,” Elizabeth said. “Their team does a great job of placing students and following up with the workplace to make sure it is safe for the students. I would suggest that anyone thinking about the San Miguel Corporate Internship Program seriously consider taking the next step. It was so easy and worked really well for the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson.”
Learn more about San Miguel’s Work Study Program
Learn more about the Catholic Foundation
Camille and Bishop Edward Weisenburger