BH-BL High School junior Emily Burdikoff is working alongside college students and marketing professionals at a local renewable energy firm thanks to her studies at Capital Region BOCES.
She is using her design and social media skills in the marketing office at Livingston Energy Group, building a professional portfolio filled with projects she learned to undertake in the BOCES Career and Technical School Digital Media Design program. “I want to go into digital media and photography when I graduate, so this is perfect for me,” Burdikoff said of the paid internship.
“One project I worked on is ‘Get on the Map Monday’ where I highlighted a recent project that Livingston was involved with … using photographs and graphics. I also created a post for LinkedIn, Instagram and social media,” Burdikoff said. “I like it a lot and I am getting great experience,” she added.
Digital Media Design teacher Barb Gorbaty said Burdikof has proven herself to be a well-prepared student with a drive and passion to succeed.
“She really took charge and took over the application process as soon as she could,” Gorbaty said. “She is very organized and professional.”
Burdikoff said that she applied for the internship in the hopes of gaining experience that will pay off for her in the future. “Initially, I thought if nothing else I will have created a resume, put together the portfolio and gone through the process and at least I would have gained that experience. I am so happy to have gotten the internship, though,” she said. “I really wanted to have the experience and know what the workplace is like before I graduate. This has been great.”
Capital Region BOCES works extensively with more than 300 businesses and institutions to train students and prepare them for careers that exist now and those that will exist in the future. This training includes work-based learning opportunities like Burdikoff’s internship at Living Energy Group.
For more information on business partnerships, visit https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/business-partners/.