LINK is an opportunity for Animas High School students to go out into the community for three weeks. They have no regularly scheduled class and around 30 hours a week students are at their internships following a mentor to find more ideas and information about their future careers.
Van Lab/Counter Kulture Van Lab is a Business in Durango that specializes in custom camper vans. They take a van from empty to something that you can travel in one night or long term. Counter Kulture is an associated business that specializes in concrete countertops and other kinds of concrete furnishings.
Reflection Coming into LINK I had lots of prior experience from working with my dad and his carpentry business. This was very valuable because I was able to almost just become another employee. They didn't have to teach me much before I could hope in and help them out. I was also able to complete jobs on my own without them having to watch over me.
The majority of the skills I learned were when I started to weld and fabricate. They taught me how to weld and they gave me a project that they needed to be done to practice and hone my skills. I then transferred into my final project of fabricating a bumper for my truck. This is where I learned how to use a tube bender and a tube notcher. I also learned a lot about the design process and how I should have focused on it more. After all, I had to redesign multiple times because I didn't take enough time the first go at it.
Some challenges that I encountered during the weeks were that because I know so much I may not have learned the amount I could have. If I would have come into it with less experience then I would have learned a lot more but I also would have slowed the team down. Another big challenge I have was designing my bumper. What I thought was a good idea that would work out easily was not the correct way to do it. So I had to go and research and redesign to make it all work together better. In the long run, it's gonna be way stronger and better looking.
This internship experience has greatly influenced my future career choices. I had already known that I wanted a career that I was building and designing with my hands. The field that this internship has gotten me more interested in is vehicle fabrications and welding. I am also really interested in outfitting ambulances and selling them to customers to travel around.