Hundreds of SF students to start summer jobs through Police Foundation

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - Three hundred high school students in San Francisco are ready to start special summer jobs.

They're all working through the city's Police Foundation, which created the future graduates summer tech internship program three years ago. The jobs are being touted as good for the firms, good for the city, and especially good for the young people doing the work.

Seventeen-year-old Miles Dittmann grew up near San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. "It's really quiet. A lot of nice people around," he said.

After finishing his junior year at Mission High School, Miles is ready for a big challenge this summer. "I think it's all going to be a learning experience. I'm going to be expanding my knowledge of technology and whatever else I'll be working on."

On Monday, Miles will start at tech company, Assurance Data, working under director of sales, Biff Clark. He says the company is "a cyber-security specialist. We deal with consultancy opportunities with companies, we sell cyber security solutions."

Miles is one of 300 high school students who have been hooked up with paid internships through the San Francisco Police Foundation, 40 of which are in technology. "Teaching them, A- that they are valuable. Teaching the tech companies that there's a huge untapped talent pool," says Police Chief Greg Suhr.

He created this program when he worked in the Mission Station, and this is the fourth year since it went citywide. "It just struck me growing up, I wanted a job... So, that's what these are. These are jobs that they apply for, they interview for, they win, and then there's expectations."

Gateway High School senior Ikenna Anigbogu is also looking forward to getting to work. "It's opening so many doors. Basically a way for me to get that experience as like a bridge to the workforce."

He doesn't yet know where he'll be working, but one possibility is an online social fitness community called Gymflash. "Success is a matter of mentality rather than just tools you're just kind of given randomly. And you need to know what the tools that you have to execute the goals," says Gymflash CEO, Darren Chan.

Chief Suhr says the jobs will also help keep some young people out of trouble, while also giving them much better ideas of what the future may hold for them. Each student also gets a stipend at the end of the summer of about $2,000.