Government interns who just completed their five- and eight-week terms and have learned that the right summer job can pave the way to a bright future.

Jennifer Phillips, a 19-year-old college student, told The Royal Gazette that her stint with Community and Cultural Affairs, "was informative and made (her) aware of the potential Bermudians have".

"I would do it again,"she said, "because it's what I'm interested in writing."

Miss Phillips, an aspiring journalist, spent the past eight weeks working on a commemorative book celebrating the Island's 400-year anniversary. She was responsible for researching and writing short 100-150 word biographies on some of the Island's most significant forebears; and admits she learned a lot from the experience. "Some of the older people were surprised that I didn't recognise the (historical figures) names, but no one taught them to me," she said. "We don't learn as much Bermudian history as we need to."

"It's interesting to see what Bermudians have accomplished and what they can accomplish in everything politics, then there are lots of artists on the list, and freed slaves.

"The list is a big mix of people, a melting pot of personalities and achievements.

"Miss Phillips, who uncovered information about pirates from the 1600s, was most interested to learn about rebellious slave Sally Bassett, who was burned at the stake for poisoning a slave owner. "I didn't know who she was," the teenager admits. "But I learned that from her ashes sprung the purple flower which is now known as the Bermudiana, the national flower. I think it is important to know some information about where you come from."

Miss Phillips joined more than 350 other Government interns, including Mark Fox and Swaynisha Outerbridge, at a closing ceremony held in Dockyard this Thursday.

The interns, ranging in age from 16 to 25, were each assigned a job in Government depending on their skill set and interests and could be seen in almost every department from Works and Engineering, Parks to Tourism.

Mark Fox, 21, has worked with Government for the past three summers in the Parks Department, the Marketing Centre and most recently with Marine and Ports working on the ferry docks. He calls all three experiences some of the best summers of his life.

"They were all enjoyable. I had wonderful, co-workers at all the places, they were wonderful to talk to, I got along with them all well and, right from the beginning, they accepted me as one of their own. I had no problems making friends."

"In fact I still see some of them every now and then and have some nice catch up with them," he said.

The 21-year-old, who is currently studying fine arts at the University of Wales in Cardiff, said he loved having a job on the water and enjoyed meeting tourists from around the world.

"Some of the tourists were very polite and quite wonderful, from all over the world Japan, Sicily, I had some people from British Colombia (Canada), down from the Islands, the UK, even some from Russia, Germany and Eastern Europe.

"I love meeting people from new cultures and I got to do that. I get to explore the world in my own country with this job."

His supervisor commended his hard work and commitment throughout the summer, but Mr. Fox told The Royal Gazette he was just happy to do his job. "I like doing my job, I like helping people. It makes me happy."

Swaynisha Outerbridge, 21, has been taking on large responsibilities for the past four years as the Coordinator's Assistant with the Department of Labour and Training.

She is responsible for the payroll of all 360 summer students and in many respects takes on a parenting role throughout the summer, providing guidance and assistance to summer students in need.

"When we have orientation, I am who they speak to if they have any queries or concerns," she said. "If the job is not challenging enough, if they want to move on, sometimes they work at the Airport doing shift work and they want to know when they get paid... students always have concerns. I set the students up, interact with them, find out their field of study, if they are good with accounting or statistics or social work... they will go to the similar area."

Miss Outerbridge, a Bermuda College student who plans to go into the education field, has learned a lot from her Government internship and says the experience has prepared her for the working world.

"I've built relationship with directors, department heads, close relationships with the accountant general, as well as social insurance and the private sector jobs,"she explained.

"This programme has broadened my horizons. It has definitely encouraged me to think outside the box. It's enabled me with opportunities of working with students to pursue my career in education.

"Miss Outerbridge has enjoyed her internship with Government and encourages other high school and college students to look at the benefits of the job."It's definitely a good programme to have their foot in the door and I encourage all students to register," she said.

Any students interested in a Government internship for 2009 can start applying in December at www.gov.bm.