1st Job-Lincoln connects students to potential IT careers

Lincoln Public Schools joined community organizations and businesses on July 27 to celebrate a program that matches students with their first jobs, typically in the information technology field.

The event, held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Business building, honored the students, business leaders and organizations involved with 1st Job-Lincoln. The program was developed five years ago as a way to introduce Lincoln high school students to the professional world. Developed by the Lincoln Human Resource Management Association (LHRMA), it teaches students about resumes, interviewing and professionalism, and matches high school students with paid internships.

“We are focusing on workforce readiness, the first step in making sure our high school students are prepared and ready for employment,” said Robbie Seybert, chairman of the LHRMA Workforce Readiness Committee and director of employee relations and personnel at LPS.

He noted that the 1st Job-Lincoln program pulls from a “broad sweep” of talented young people – from all public and parochial Lincoln high schools, with an emphasis on The Career Academy (TCA) at LPS – and matches them with a variety of generous local businesses and organizations.

One of those talented young people was Noah Costello, a 2018 graduate of Lincoln Southeast High School who attended TCA. Costello had an internship at Don’t Panic Labs, a Lincoln software development firm. He helped develop an app - called MyLNK - that consolidates information from local human services agencies and makes it available for people in crisis who may not always have internet access but do have a mobile phone where the app and its information can be stored.

“My advice to prospective 1st Job-Lincoln interns is to realize you are going to have a good experience regardless of what company you connect with,” Costello said.

A majority of the students who participated in the program this year attend or attended TCA. Dan Hohensee, TCA director, said 1st Job-Lincoln is a win-win for everyone involved.

“The potential to connect TCA programming and networking students is a tremendous opportunity,” he said.

Added Jan Norlander-Jensen, from the the City of Lincoln and the Greater Lincoln Workforce Development Board: “Early identification of the talent pipeline is important to our community. The 1st Job-Lincoln program is an opportunity for IT professionals to create positive summer internships for high school students. This is a great introduction for students to the world of work and to the exciting career opportunities that are available here in Lincoln.”

LPS has been involved with 1st Job-Lincoln since the program’s inception five years ago. This summer, LPS employed two interns, making it one of the program’s “Champion Employers.”

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