Unlocking New Possibilities: The Future and Impact of LT Internships

PEAK’s Leaders in Training internship is a significant program that PEAK offers. In the past, most internships revolved around assisting with PEAK programs out at Lake Valley Camp, or in Milwaukee with our Community Camp or Day Camp. Last summer, the internship expanded by offering summer positions with two local organizations: Wisconsin Bike Federation and Bloom MKE. LTs Damon Manns, Jaden Simmons, and Saul Flores all applied, but only Damon and Jaden were able to intern with both organizations. Damon and Jaden are both juniors in high school and have been a part of PEAK for years and are familiar with most of PEAK’s programs, including LVC and Day Camp. Damon and Jaden expressed a shared appreciation for PEAK, because every chance to try something new has helped them grow. So, in Spring of 2024, when they were offered internships, they accepted.

The Bike Fed internship had many components, including education, outreach, and exposure. “We intended on plugging the interns into as much of the work that Bike Fed does as possible, and then also getting them engaged with Vision Zero,” said Alora Correa, Milwaukee High School Education Manager at Bike Fed. Damon and Jaden learned bike repair basics, facilitated bike camps at Milwaukee schools, and discussed the details of safe biking infrastructure with officials. For Damon, all of this came after one important step: re-learning how to ride a bike.

It had been years since Damon rode a bike, but he was determined to not let that stop him from engaging with the work. To the surprise of Alora and our Teen and Community team, after attending his first day at Bike Fed, Damon took his bike home and practiced all afternoon. "[Damon] blew us all away,” Alora admitted, “sure enough, he went home and figured it out. He got to the point where he was comfortable riding, so that was awesome. That was a really great way to start the internship." Damon’s dedication to being confident riding again paid off, as the two LTs logged hundreds of miles while exploring biking options in Milwaukee, visiting Chicago’s bike trails, and even spending a day mountain biking. The mountain biking took place in Whitewater, WI, and was challenging even for Jaden, who was a more experienced biker. Both LTs remembered it well though, and they laughed while recounting their struggles. “It was kinda rough. I had bumped into some trees and I fell a lot, but it was fun though! It was a learning experience too... I enjoyed it,” said Damon.

Damon and Jaden spent half of their weeks with Bike Fed, but the other half of the time they were working with Bloom MKE, who operates the Cherry Street Garden. The LTs worked with PEAK’s longtime partners, Rick and Lisa Roszkowski, who taught them how their program worked, what they were growing, and how to properly care for a garden. In addition, Damon and Jaden also got to give back to PEAK by helping to facilitate garden days for our Pathfinders in Day Camp, which Jaden enjoyed. “My favorite day from Bloom was the bee day. It was national bee day, so we made bee hats and walked over to Cherry Street Garden to play some mini-games with the pathfinders,” Jaden explained.

For both the LTs, gardening was new territory, but that’s what made the work there so valuable. “Bloom was an eye-opening experience,” Jaden said, “you tend to like it more and more, you look forward to the days you work there.” That change in perspective and openness to new experiences is a skill within itself, and one that both LTs identified in the internship. "One of the biggest takeaways that I got from the internship is that trying new things isn't always bad... I had a lot of fun, I gained some new skills, and I learned more about myself,” Damon said. Jaden quickly added on, saying, "I found myself just really enjoying experimenting with new things that I never thought to do before... It was just an interesting experience to have, and I'm very grateful for it.”

Damon and Jaden are due to graduate from the LT program Spring of 2025, and they have one summer left with PEAK. While they may not do the same internships again, their courage to try something new has laid the foundation for stronger partnerships between PEAK, Bloom MKE, and Bike Fed. Hopefully this summer, their example will push other LTs to go outside their comfort zone and experience Milwaukee in ways they never have, just as Jaden and Damon did.