Following the completion of a new spring internship program, Mission Springs Water District celebrated Gabriel Almanza and Kaleb Herbest at its Board of Directors meeting on Monday. In partnership with the Desert Hot Springs High School REAL Academy, the program provides valuable hands-on experience and educational opportunities to students, exposing a new generation to the opportunities in water.
"We are once again proud to partner with Desert Hot Springs High School and the REAL Academy Program," said MSWD Assistant General Manager Marion Champion. "This partnership underscores our commitment to community engagement and education. By investing in our youth, we support their future careers and promote sustainable water management practices."
During the Spring semester, MSWD hosted two REAL Academy students who learned what working in MSWD's Engineering Public Affairs departments was like. Gabriel, a senior at DHS High, says his favorite subjects are Career and Technical Education (CTE) and History. While at MSWD, he enjoyed the friendly environment and learning about the strategic planning process, from development to putting it into action and bringing it to the community through outreach initiatives. He also enjoyed learning about our water production process and is particularly impressed by the SCADA system. Gabriel has enlisted in the Air Force and plans to study Mechatronics, which studies electronics, mechanics, and computer control.
Kaleb, a senior at DHS High School, embraces learning opportunities and says his favorite class is calculus. He says he is grateful for the opportunity to be selected for an internship at MSWD, as he has enjoyed building new connections, gaining practical engineering insights, and seeing what the daily life of an engineer entails. He plans to continue his studies in the fall at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he plans to obtain a degree in Mechanical Engineering.