Our internship program provides valuable working experience to high school, college, and vocational students.  Moreover, it provides them with an opportunity to network and a better opportunity to land their dream job in their chosen sector. 

Below are some of the success stories and experiences from some of our former student interns. 

MEET MICHAEL REYES

First of all, I want to say that I am grateful to be in a position to be able to share my experiences with you and everyone else of the journey my career has taken since the opportunity of becoming an intern for Clark County. I would have never pictured myself in a million years to be in the position I am today, and it would not have happened if it weren’t for the opportunity that arose while I was finishing my last semester of college. I first heard about an internship opportunity for Clark County Election in one of my IS classes at UNLV. Our professor sent an email out of the posting to the entire class, and I figured that I needed some real-world experience and should at least try and apply to get interview practice. The job posting was for a Programmer Analyst Intern – a career path that I had not intended to go towards to be quite honest. When I showed up to the interview, I was greeted by the warmth and welcome of the Election group. Most notably, now Registrar of Voters, Lorena Portillo was part of the interview panel. She was one of the first interactions I had with County staff, and it brought such a great first impression on who my potential new employer would be. She gave me a call and let me know that I was hired for the internship, and things took off from there.

Within my first few days of starting, I was brought in introduced to fellow co-workers, taught department and County processes, and just felt very welcomed. I earned new mentors from both my manager and the senior PA. They taught me new things, but more importantly, they let me try things. That allowed me to succeed, but more importantly, it allowed me to fail so that I can learn from mistakes. The important thing was that they guided me in the right direction and allowed me to create my own path. A few months into the internship, I saw a job posting for a Programmer Analyst (PA) I/II in central IT. I brought this up to my manager and told him “I don’t think I am qualified for this.” He stopped me there, and told me that’s not true, and you should absolutely try and apply for this position. He also went out of his way and made phone calls to his contacts in IT to let them know about me and what I can offer. That gesture really resonates with how the County culture is – we like to build within and raise each other up to our highest potential. Soon after, I receive a chance to interview for the PA I/II. From the experience I gained working as an intern, I was able to interview well and get a job in IT as a PA I, where I supported the public web site for the County. From there, I grew through the ranks and networked with multiple departments due to the services I supported. I gained even more mentors – my customers, my supervisors, my managers, my DCIOs, and CIOs all supported me to get to the point where I am now. I was offered the opportunity to attend the County’s Management Academy. I was offered the opportunity to attend leadership conferences. And best of all, I was offered the opportunity to lead a team as an Office Administrator (Supervisor). I am thankful for that internship – I would not have gotten to the point where I am now without it. Surrounded by great mentors right from the beginning with Lorena and Elections to the point where I am now with an awesome leadership crew in IT, it has truly been a life changing opportunity.

I'm Kurtiz Le, and my journey at Clark County IT from intern to a full-time Programmer Analyst has been a remarkable one, driven by my passion for technology. My first experience at CCIT began as a high-school intern in 2017, to which I began honing my web design and development skills, setting the stage for my future. During my time as a high school intern, I mainly focused on design-based projects, translating modern concepts into reality through mock-ups and wireframes. One notable project was collaborating with the Juvenile Justice Services department in creating TheHarborLV website. The site was built using WordPress, which allowed me to really focus on creating a modern web layout with little to no code. A few years later, in my last 3 semesters pursuing my B.S. in Computer Science at UNLV, I had another opportunity to return to CCIT, this time as a college intern, where I would transition my focus on programming and web development, which truly defined my journey. During this time not only have I worked on supporting various department applications and learning ASP.NET MVC, but I also assisted in the redesign and redevelopment of the County's MyIntraNET, the main hub for 27+ Clark County departments. These experiences played a pivotal role in propelling me into a full-time Programmer Analyst here at Clark County IT, a transition I am excited about as I continue to build upon my foundation in programming and embrace new challenges.

MEET KURTIZ LE

MEET MEISAM

When I started my internship, I was fortunate to have only one course left to graduate and had already gained relevant experience from previous degrees and jobs. This allowed me to focus more on my internship and I worked shorter hours every day that increase my learning ability. Although I had significant technical experience, I realized that it was not enough. To set myself apart from other candidates, I identified obstacles and what I needed to improve/learn. For example, I had zero knowledge about the Election department, so I prioritized learning more about business process flows, vendors, rules, terminology, and different components. I did not hesitate to ask for help, sacrifice more hours out of work to prepare, or ask more intelligent questions during work hours. When I started, three employees with significant roles were about to leave the Election department. Although it created more challenges for me, it also presented great opportunities for knowledge transformation and higher responsibilities. Visualizing myself in the big picture in the next 30 years and with supportive management, it motivated me to work hard and prove my capable potential. Management recognized my efforts and guided me to reach my full potential by sharing experiences and following success blueprints. I am grateful for being part of the big Clark County family where every day is a new learning opportunity with wonderful people from diverse backgrounds. It makes me happy to have the opportunity to serve the Las Vegas community.