At the Aug. 18 meeting Valley View School District recognized students who completed paid summer internships through a program coordinated with the Will County Center for Economic Development (CED) and honored Bolingbrook High School senior Caleb Wallace for winning a national ACT‑SO (Afro‑Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) gold medal in filmmaking.

The district read the names of 13 students who held paid CED internships; administration said six of the interns have graduated and others are in college or working. Director of College and Career Readiness Dorelata Peyton described the program as a first‑year collaboration that placed students in paid internships with local employers and organizations so they could apply classroom learning to real‑world work. As an example, administration cited Isaiah Reimer’s internship in the office of Senator Rachel Ventura, where he participated in a leaflet drop to inform residents about a bridge reconstruction and observed grassroots civic engagement.

District staff also recognized Caleb Wallace, who explained his film I Must Confess as “a film I made in order to speak to the emotional suppression within the Black community … a public service announcement saying that everybody has their own unique problems and nobody should be ashamed of that.” The district praised Wallace for winning a national gold medal in the filmmaking category; administrators suggested showing his three‑and‑a‑half‑minute video at a future board meeting.

Why it matters: work‑based learning and national competitions give students hands‑on experience, raise visibility for district programs and support college‑ and career‑readiness goals.

What happened at the meeting: administrators introduced the internship cohort, read student names and presented certificates; the board and community applauded Wallace’s national award and the district encouraged more local businesses to host interns.

Ending: the district said it plans to expand the internship program and invited community employers to contact the college‑and‑career office to host paid interns in future summers.