For several Cavaliers, summertime calls for adventures in different parts of the world. For junior Christian Tomas, however, he set his sights on his local community and decided to complete an internship within the City of Coral Gables. Tomas, alongside senior Angelina Morffi, represented Coral Gables Senior High for three weeks, exploring different sectors within the city and witnessing the role local government.
On the final days of last school year, Tomas was notified about the city-run Cavaliers Internship Program by his fellow Cavalier, junior Oliver Angulo. Embracing his curiosity to learn more about city operations, Tomas applied for the program. A few weeks later, Tomas was notified that he would have the privilege to experience the internship with Morffi and two other interns from different high schools.
“I got asked the question on my application of why I wanted to be a part of the program in the application. I made sure to express my interest in learning how the city [of Coral Gables] functions and what goes into everyday decisions,” junior Tomas said.
Commencing his adventure on June 24, Tomas met Morffi and two interns from the Page Internship Program, which takes applicants from others high schools nearby the city. He also greeted the supervisor of the program: Senior Commission Liaison Gabriela Quintana. After first impressions and introducing himself, Tomas was informed about the program and the purpose behind the internship, which was to promote youth involvement in local communities. Tomas was later introduced to the mayor of Coral Gables and members of the city commission.
“Our supervisor [Gabriela Quintana] made a daily calendar for us. She would make sure that we visited every department of the city for around three hours. Whenever I was lost mentally or physically in the wrong place, she would point in the right direction and give my peers and I guidance,” junior Tomas said.
For the next couple of weeks, Tomas visited different departments within the city and learn about their role and services. For example, he walked on the premises of the fire department and learned more about the emergency response team and their training facilities. By witnessing real-life scenarios, Tomas learned specific details about the behind-the-scenes work that occurs in the community.
“[Within the city] you have IT, Development Services, City Hall, the Fire Department…Most days, I had the opportunity to listen to the people in charge of their respective departments and shadow them while they conducted their operations. It was a cool experience,” junior Tomas said.
While Tomas and his peers explored every corner of the Gables, they had their share of downtime to reflect on what they learned. Each intern wrote their own report about key topics swirling in the community. These topics included but were not limited to zoning laws, the annexation of Little Gables and public transportation.
Collaboratively, Tomas and his peers discussed potential strategies to involve others in the youth demographic to consider participating in local government and events. One prominent idea that came up was the potential expansion of the social media presence of cities like Coral Gables, so that cities might appeal to younger audiences. The team conducted further research and consolidated their findings into a PowerPoint presentation, which would be brought up at the July 9 Coral Gables commission meeting.
“Through means of reflection and involvement, I definitely gained knowledge of the city and found something I wanted to do to contribute. One of the ideas that came to my head was potentially serving Coral Gables as a lifeguard for the Venetian pool…After gaining so much insight, I definitely appreciate what each individual and their respective departments do for the city,” junior Tomas said.
During the commission meeting, Coral Gables mayor Vince Lago commended the interns for taking the time to develop initiative and propose suggestions to the commission regarding the youth. Using his platform, Tomas helped deliver the PowerPoint Presentation, which detailed a “Youth Advisory Board” that could potentially be created to reach out to Miami-Dade students through high schools.
“I think Christian has always been a motivated person and he always goes for opportunities like this. He’s always thinking about his future and how he can better himself. He told me that the internship was really fun and he learned a lot. I think getting the youth involved in the community is really important and Christian definitely helped bring the perspective of a high school student. I saw Christian become a more motivated and more social person this summer,” junior Oliver Angulo said.
Tomas is currently a staff member for the newest publication on campus: Gables Live. After his experience over the summer, Tomas is striving to to improve his communication skills within a classroom setting, a broadcast class and beyond. For now, his sights are set on helping others and implementing the tools he sharpened to stay involved in the community and contribute any way he can.
