BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (OBV) – Eighteen-year-old Ella Goodwin’s dream to become a firefighter is coming true thanks to the internship she started while she was a Bartlesville High School student.
“I always wanted to be a firefighter, ever since I was really little,” said Goodwin.
Goodwin, who graduated from high school last year, is realizing her dream much sooner than most aspiring firefighters.
She is close to becoming a firefighter in her hometown of Bartlesville thanks in part to an internship program that taught her the skills she would need to fight fires and protect her community.
“There’s a lot more training than people realize,” Goodwin said.
Ella’s internship was at Washington County EMT. She also underwent training at the fire academy at the Oklahoma CareerTech facility in Bartlesville. The training was part of an internship program created by Bartlesville High School. She is now trying to become a firefighter at Bartlesville Fire Department.
“We have people working with plumbers, with commercial electricians. These are just practice reps for kids within different careers,” said Anthony Tucker, Bartlesville High School internship director.
The internship program is not a traditional career pathway for students, but it is a highly effective one, Tucker said.
“Life-ready is not necessarily college-ready anymore,” he said.
Bartlesville High School established their internship program to help kids get hands-on with their future careers.
Thanks to the Graduation Act of 2024, those two hours on the job that Ella spent at Washington County EMT each day of her senior year can now be counted as credits, allowing students like Goodwin to graduate on time with a head start in the real world.
Goodwin has already earned the following four certifications:
- Firefighter 1
- Emergency Medical Responder (EMR)
- HAZMAT Awareness
- HAZMAT Operation
Goodwin took many of the certification classes at CareerTech. She is now close to becoming a firefighter thanks to the internship. She knows she wants a career as a first responder, and her bosses know she will make a good one.
“[She’s on her way] because she’s been able to obtain the training through the internship program, and beyond that, [that] a lot of beginning firefighters, even when they reach 22, 23, 24, may not have reached,” said Washington County Fire Chief and EMT Kary Cox.
Internships enable prospective employers to gauge the intern’s ability.
“Getting to work with these young folks and seeing them in that day-to-day setting in the office and seeing their work ethic, seeing their attitude, their behavior, how they approach certain tasks, especially if they find something challenging – how do they meet those challenges? – that gives us a better idea of what that candidate or that intern might turn out to be as a as a full time employee,” Cox said.
Employers, educators and students alike say internships and apprenticeship programs are well worth a shot.
“I would say go for it, because any real-world experience you can get while you’re young [are beneficial]. You’re building connections. You’re starting that growth earlier on,” Goodwin said.
Internships prepare students for their future careers and give them the personal growth they will need to succeed in life.
“If we want life-ready kids here in Oklahoma with this business-friendly environment that we boast and we proudly have, we’ve got to get kids practice reps,” Tucker said.
