This post is part of an archived series of blogs called The LeVine Line, written by former Ambassador Suzan G. LeVine during her time at U.S. Embassy Bern.
17 July 2016
<This is a note I received from Mikron Automation in Colorado from one of their summer interns with her reflections on this chance she is being given. I was so moved by it and believe that it reflects the potential that apprenticeship delivers to our nation and to the world that I wanted to post and share it with the world. I haven’t met Selena yet, but as someone who did get my Mechanical Engineering degree, I know that she’s starting out on the right foot and, if this note is any indication, she has a beautiful future ahead of her!>
Hello, my name is Selena Elekovic and I moved here two years ago from Serbia in hopes to get the best education possible and get a good job afterwards. My parents have sacrificed a lot for me and my two little sisters to come and go to school here. The truth is college here is very expensive, and I would have to rely on scholarships and student loans, therefore even after college I would have to continue paying my student debt for many years. That is the first reason this apprenticeship would mean so much to me. It would first of all relieve me of all the stress about getting money for education after High School. Along with that, this is an amazing opportunity to experience working at a place that I see myself working at in 10/15 years as well. I really want to become a Mechanical Engineer, I’ve loved mechanics ever since I was a kid, and seeing machines come to life is almost like dreams coming true. I’ve been working here for Mikron for only 3 weeks now, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. From hands on making stations and parts to working in Solidworks and shipping parts, every part of the process was fun in its own way. This opportunity means so much to me, it is essentially an opportunity for me to start doing what I love as early as senior year of High School. I am very grateful to the Mikron Corporation for organizing this program, and even more that they accepted me as an Intern. I really hope I get to stay and join the apprenticeship here at Mikron this fall as well.
Good luck, Selena! And thank you for being such an example to so many!
