For Information Contact: 

Rosemary Carole

798-5908

UTICA – Oneida County Executive Ralph J. Eannace, Jr., today announced that college students coming home for the holidays can sign up this weekend for the highly successful Oneida County College Student Corps.

"Students and employers have already contacted us about next summer," Eannace said. "We’re coming off the best year in the program’s history. Next year will be bigger and better."

On the day after Thanksgiving, as well as normal business hours through April, applications will also be available at the Working Solutions Utica One Stop, 207 Genesee St., Utica; Working Solutions Rome One-Stop, 252 West Dominick St., Rome. Applications will also be available on the Web at www.oneidacounty.org.

The "Call Mohawk Valley Home" booth at Sangertown Square will include:

• Information on educational and recreational activities in the Mohawk Valley;
• College Student Corps pre-applications for students and employers;
• Brochures on services available through the regional Working Solutions consortium and Web site working-solutions.org; and
• "Call Mohawk Valley Home" postcards for mailing to family and friends who have left the region so they can check out CallMohawkValleyHome.com and catch up on the region’s opportunities.

"Home is a special place for all of us," Eannace said. "We want our college students coming home to know that their home is not just the place they knew when they were growing up. The Mohawk Valley has grown a diverse economy filled with successful employers that are successfully competing worldwide and meeting the human services needs of our region here at home. There are great challenges and great careers right here. The best way to preview them is through the College Student Corps."

College Student Corps intern Carlos Feliz said the program has helped him tremendously.

"Everyone is looking for people with experience," said Feliz, who has had internships at EnviroMaster in Rome and Force Guided Relays (part of Fiber Instrument Sales) in Oriskany. "The College Student Corps has really provided me with a lot of great experience – the kind of experience I need to get a job when I am done with college. Without the College Corps, I don’t know how I would have gotten the experience I have. It’s been great."

Feliz plans to stay in the area after graduation. "I’ve lived in other places, but this is such a nice area," he said. "You can make more money other places, but the costs of a house and a car and the cost of living are so much higher it eats it all up."

The College Student Corps opened his eyes to the region’s potential, he said. "I didn’t know about all the companies we have here. The more that other students learn about these companies, the more they will understand what we have to offer here."

"We give our interns a good look at the work we do. It also gives us an early look at students who can work for Harza and that’s a terrific advantage," said Brian Mandryck, Senior Transportation Engineer of Montgomery Watson Harza in Utica. "We can build a relationship with an intern now that can pay off after graduation. The College Student Corps is a great program for everyone. The employers win and the interns win."

This summer, Harza hired five interns. Interns’ jobs included all facets of Harza’s work. One intern assigned to the Memorial Parkway Road Reconstruction Project in Utica was involved in construction inspection, making sure the project was built in accordance with the plans and specifications.

To help all area young people take advantage of the College Student Corps, Eannace said Oneida County will partner with Utica’s Cosmopolitan Center, which will help recruit minority students for the program.

"Our minority young people from Utica are being courted by companies from all over the country," said Morris Pearson, Executive Director of the Cosmopolitan Center. "It’s wonderful that Oneida County wants to keep this minority talent in our community. Other communities are finding that minority business people, professional people and managers are helping lead their revivals. We want to help that happen here."

"The College Student Corps is a gateway," Eannace said. "It opens the eyes of our college students to the tremendous opportunities they have if they return here to work. Every year the program grows because very year we have more and more students wanting to work in the Mohawk Valley."

In the summer of 2001:

• 160 interns were hired — the highest level to date – bringing the total enrollment for the program’s first four years to more than 450.
• Employers pledged $104,000 in contributions to match county funding — also a record and more than three times any previous year’s total.

This innovative initiative – funded by the Oneida County Board of Legislators and Oneida County employers – matches Oneida County’s young people with summer job opportunities in a wide variety of local employers. The program has grown in every year of its existence.

Interns gain experience in their field of study and an opportunity to learn about Oneida County employers that offer good-paying, exciting careers in their fields of study. Employers gain by hiring an energetic and enthusiastic intern who helps the employers during the summer, and may be a candidate for a full-time opening after graduation. Students are paid $7 an hour and work between 25 and 35 hours a week during internships that can last from six to eight weeks. Students also participate in a labor market overview, social events and receive employment assistance after they graduate from college. The program targets college juniors and seniors. The pre-application deadline is April 1.

Eannace said employer support for the program is proof of its success.

"This summer, more than 70 employers agreed to hire these interns and share that cost with County Government," Eannace said. "These employers know what more employers are discovering every years – the College Student Corps gives them a great intern for the summer, and a head start at bringing a top-quality prospect to work for them after graduation."

"I want to salute our county Board of Legislators for their support of this program, and also our employers who are helping us to build a program that will allow us to serve as many young people as possible," said Eannace.

"We have a lot of great young people in Oneida County and we have a lot of great companies with wonderful career opportunities. The College Student Corps brings them both together, and all of Oneida County benefits," said Board of Legislators Chairman Gerald Fiorini of Rome.

Student pre-applications are matched with employer requests. Students selected for the program will begin hearing if they are accepted starting in February.

Students wanting more information on the Oneida County College Student Corps can contact Program Coordinator Rosemary Carole at the Oneida County Office of Workforce Development, 798-5908.