This school year marks the 12th year that the Ponca City Development Authority and Ponca City Public Schools have worked together to place students into local businesses across the community. Beginning with just six students, the Wildcat Internship Program has grown dramatically. This semester alone, approximately 160 students will intern with more than 100 unique companies and organizations across the community.
Ponca City High School students began the 2026–27 Wildcat Internship Program with a five-day Workforce Bootcamp Orientation, designed to prepare them for something different from a traditional classroom: stepping into real workplaces throughout the Ponca City community.
The Bootcamp combined program orientation, hands-on placement work and advice directly from local professionals about career exploration, first impressions, transferable skills, work/life priorities and interviewing. Between speaker sessions, students worked through applications, paperwork and placement needs as they prepared to begin internships throughout the community.
Liz Leaming, Retail and Workforce Development Director at the Ponca City Development Authority (PCDA), began the week by setting Wildcat expectations, providing an introduction to local economics and building students’ awareness of just how much Ponca City has to offer. PCDA began the internship partnership with the schools more than a decade ago to create early connections between students and local employers, connections that can become an important workforce recruitment tool when students later decide where to build their careers and whether to return closer to home.
Students also heard from Apryl Moore, Regional Laboratory Manager at Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma, during Finding Your Path: Careers Aren’t Always a Straight Line . Moore quickly pulled students into the conversation by tossing chocolate bars to those willing to share where they thought their current path might lead, a fun and useful engagement strategy that reinforced the idea that meaningful careers do not always begin on a traditional timeline or follow a predictable route.
Brooke Jones, owner of Redlands Office Solutions, presented What Employers Notice: Making a Strong First Impression , focusing on communication, attitude and the habits that shape how others experience you at work. One of her clearest messages to students was simple: “Attitude beats experience more than you think. Be the person people want to teach.”
Melissa Ceceña, an independent real estate agent with Keller Williams Select who spent 20 years in healthcare administration, brought some real talk to Your Career Can Change: Finding Work That Fits Your Life. When she asked who had worked in fast food, several hands went up. Ceceña was emphatic: “Fast-food experience? I’d hire you in a heartbeat.” She said employers recognize that young people who have worked in that industry are already bringing customer service, multitasking and people skills to the table.
The Workforce Bootcamp Orientation concluded with Major Josh Henderson, Deputy Chief of the Ponca City Police Department, presenting Police Interviews & Job Interviews: Surprisingly Similar Skills . Henderson proved his point about confidence by slipping an absurd “fact” into the conversation and delivering it so convincingly that the whole room went along with it until students realized they had been had. From there, his message was simple: “Be confident. It’s okay to brag on yourself.” He encouraged students to speak with assurance about what they bring to the table and remember that, in a job interview, the person across from them truly wants them to do well.
Across the week, one message surfaced repeatedly: it is okay not to have everything figured out yet, and it is okay for plans to change. Students were also reminded that the relationships they build now matter. Even for those who hope to leave Ponca City after graduation, the connections they make through school, work and community can continue to serve them if and when their path brings them home again.
“Bootcamp gives students a chance to hear directly from people who have built careers, changed directions and learned what matters in the workplace,” Internship Coordinator Cristyn Casey said. “That kind of perspective is hard to duplicate in a classroom.”
The Wildcat Internship Program is a partnership between Ponca City Public Schools, the Ponca City Development Authority and employers and organizations throughout the community. Through school-day internships, students gain real-world experience, explore possible careers and build professional skills and community connections.
With Workforce Bootcamp Orientation complete, Wildcat interns are now moving into placements throughout the Ponca City community. 
