Interns get to know St. Joseph

By Ashley Luthans

Interns and those new to the area got the chance to learn more about the community and explore St. Joseph on Wednesday thanks to a tour hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

The goal of the free event was to take interns that are new to town and show them around St. Joseph.

Altec intern Johnny Bauer said he was excited to meet other interns and get to know St. Joseph.

“I came out here today to network with a bunch of the other Altec interns and learn more about the great St. Joseph community,” Bauer said.

Kristie Arthur, the Chamber’s director of workforce development, helped lead the tour. Arthur spoke about the initiative that holds the event and why they continue to do it every year.

“Our Uncommon Life initiative is designed to attract talent, and young talent, into the community,” Arthur said. “And every year we sponsor an intern day where they can get to know each other, they get to know a little bit more about St. Joe … We want them to understand how valuable our community is and all of the great things about it.”

Stops included the Glore Psychiatric Museum, Ricky Dean’s and Parkway Distillery.

At Ricky Dean’s, Jessica Oshel, special events and communications coordinator for St. Joseph Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities, spoke to the attendees about the department.

The tour ended with a social at Parkway Distillery that invited the interns to network with other businesses.

Bauer said he is grateful for his first-year internship at Altec in St. Joseph.

“Well, Altec is a great place and I’ve had a great experience here so far,” Bauer said. “I just love being able to meet as many people as I possibly can and network as much as I can.”