Home » Community » Yosemite High Student Joins Visitors Center As Summer Intern
Volunteer Ron Morton with Mikey King at Visit Yosemite Madera County - photo courtesy VYMC

Yosemite High Student Joins Visitors Center As Summer Intern

OAKHURST – The Visit Yosemite Madera County Visitors Center (VYMC) is pleased to announce the addition of Mikey King as a summer intern, effective June 19 through July 27.

A resident of Oakhurst, Mikey joins the VYMC as a student from Yosemite High School and a member of the Boys and Girls Club of Oakhurst.

Mikey is going back into the school year as a sophomore. He has gone through a program at the Boys and Girls Club called Career Launch, which helped him and many of his peers learn about jobs and what it takes to get one.

The program Career Launch — wherein PG&E has teamed up with the Boys and Girls Club to give 100 kids internships — has prepared Mikey as well as many other kids in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fresno County for the work force. He and many others have been given internships in their communities after going through a group interview with four or five others, conducted by one or two interviewers.

Mikey and four others from the Oakhurst Boys and Girls Club — Jessica Star, Katina Fictum, Kimberly Pounds and Victoria Rosales — all received internships at different places throughout Oakhurst.

“I was really excited and honored to be one of the receivers of an internship because out of 300 people who applied for one of the 100 internships, I was selected, so that is awesome,” says Mikey. “This internship sets me up for a great career.”

During his time at the VYMC Visitor’s Center, Mikey has had a variety of experience that help him understand how tourism marketing works and the impact it has for the community and local business.

“I have been enjoying my time at the Visitor’s Center and thank the team for spending time with me to show me the ropes of tourism marketing, public relations and social media.”

He has greeted visitors from across the U.S. and other countries, and has helped provide information on the many different places and trails throughout Madera County, Oakhurst, Bass Lake and the Yosemite Valley.

“By helping out visitors, it has developed my customer service skills and knowledge of the area. I enjoy meeting people from all over the world,” says Mikey.

During his internship, he has visited VYMC partners and has learned the importance of local relationships and their impact on guests. He has dined at The Forks Restaurant in Bass Lake, rode on the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad in Fish Camp, eaten a juicy pork roll at Barnett’s Meats and Deli in Oakhurst, kayaked on Bass Lake using a kayak from Bass Lake Boat Rentals, enjoyed delicious Mexican food at Casa Velasco, and gone boating at Miller’s Landing.

“Having Mikey King with us has been a great pleasure to teach him the inside operations of tourism marketing,” says Therese Williams, VYMC Public Relations Director. “He has a big future ahead of him as he is bright, capable and competent. He has wonderful customer service skills engaging with people from all over the world.”

About Visit Yosemite Madera County

The Southern Yosemite Visitors Bureau was formed in 1985. It has been operating at The Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau for 30 years. The Bureau was established by a group from the Eastern Madera County Chamber of Commerce with a vision of the growing potential for drawing the millions of visitors to Yosemite National Park to the many businesses and attractions in Madera County. Recently the visitor’s bureau changed its name to Visit Yosemite | Madera County to more accurately reflect its mission to promote all there is to see and do in Yosemite and Madera County.

Visit Yosemite Madera County is located at 40343 Highway 41, Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau in Oakhurst. Call 559-683-4636 for more information.

Leave a Reply

Sierra News Online

Sierra News Online