Students in Fairport have the opportunity to intern with crypto company

by: Jatyra Marsh

Posted: Jun 9, 2023 / 04:27 PM EDT

Updated: Jun 9, 2023 / 04:27 PM EDT

FAIRPORT N.Y. (WROC) — Some local students are learning what it's like to get into the world of crypto. A company worked with the Eastern Monroe Career Center in Fairport for kids to take part in internships.

For the EMCC high school students, it's an opportunity to develop skills in order to succeed in their future careers.

Caleb Vanderkamp participated in the pc/network cabling program his junior year and as a senior joined the CISCO networking academy.

"I’ve always had a fascination with technology since I was younger and I tried to take apart a computer when I was younger but I got yelled at for it," says Vanderkamp.

Luckily for Caleb his fascination is leading him to a potential career because in CISCO, students learn skills in the areas of basic network cabling, network security, wireless implementation, and advanced routing and design.

This program has provided Caleb and other students the chance to intern with Foundry, which is a digital currency company that buys and sells cryptocurrency mining machines.

Joanna Pietropaoli, Director of Human Resources at Foundry shares more of what the internship entails.

"We have students enrolled in the pc repair network cabling program where they learn to troubleshoot and address pc networking issues. So two students in this program actually had an opportunity to intern at Foundry's repair facility and there they got to expand their skills to include more in depth troubleshooting, preventative maintenance and actually repairing bitcoin miners," says Pietropaoli.

She says this collaboration will help develop the next generation of skilled laborers that will meet the technical demand for the future.

For any student enrolled in an EMCC program that is interested in an internship with Foundry, just reach out to your coordinator contact to set up an interview.