it's good to be green

Josh Sacerio with his City of Torrance mentor

Summer Job Program provides learning opportunities for local students

By Jennifer Conner

Josh Sacerio, the Senior Class President at North High School was not planning to coast through his senior year, let alone the summer leading into his last year of high school. In addition to his work as a member of the Academic Decathlon team at North High, he also decided to be a part of the ExxonMobil Green Team.

The Green Team is a summer employment program that also provides academic enrichment for Torrance youth. Now in its 16th year, the program is a partnership between ExxonMobil, the Torrance Unified School District and the City of Torrance.

At the start of the program, like most of his peers, Josh appeared a little nervous about meeting his supervisor. Nevertheless, his nerves were put to rest when his supervisor introduced himself and they immediately set to work getting to know each other, in an attempt to make the summer a success.

Before this point, Josh had already applied, interviewed, and been accepted into the program. Despite his easy-going manner, he claimed that the interview was a challenge for him, having not had much experience interviewing.

Prior to meeting his supervisor, Josh, along with 44 of his peers, received job training from the Green Team Teachers in the classroom portion of the program. They acted out skits to demonstrate the best and worst ways to handle different work-related scenarios. Effective communication, he said, was always the key to success.

After just one week on the job, Josh spoke highly of both the paycheck and his experience. While the selling point for some members might be the paycheck, for Josh, being part of the team went beyond making money. “I think that being a part of Green Team is a good way to give back to the community.” Working in the Cultural Services department, he helped set-up venues for the various events the City of Torrance hosted throughout the summer. Josh could see the value of his work as a benefit people in his community.

Marc Pioch, one of the Green Team Instructors and a teacher at North High, praised Josh for the individual growth he noticed in him throughout the program. As the summer ended, Josh had put in over 150 hours on the job. Although he was a little sad that his time on Green Team was ending, he was hopeful for his future. “I learned a lot this summer about teamwork and responsibility that I will need to use for the rest of my life.”

Jennifer Conner, a Mechanical Engineering student from the Colorado School of Mines wrote this article. During her summer internship at the refinery this year, Jennifer worked in the Mechanical Engineering Department and participated in community relations activities.