Cecilia James worked for Lloyd Cutler Insurance and owner Lloyd Cutler, background, as an intern with the Clark County Summer Business Institute. James, who has worked for Cutler while attending UNLV, is now preparing to study for her license as a certified insurance agent. Photo by Craig L. Moran.

Cecilia James was looking for a head start on her career.

James, a freshman majoring in biology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was attending the medical academy at Rancho High School about two years ago, with dreams of owning an optometry practice.

Her brother and her cousin told James about a program they'd attended that could help her understand business: the Clark County Summer Business Institute. Through the program, interns spend eight weeks immersed in the corporate world, working for sponsoring companies and attending classes on financial management and life skills at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

"I had never had a summer job before, and I thought (the institute) would be a good opportunity to get experience with different jobs," James said. "And it wouldn't just be a job, but also a learning experience, because the institute also had financial-planning and life-skills classes."

But James got more than an eight-week internship out of the institute.

The program's administrators placed her with Lloyd Cutler Insurance in Henderson. There, James began as an administrative assistant, answering phones and sending faxes.

Two and a half years later, James is preparing to study for her license as a certified insurance agent. When she earns her certification this summer, James will take over the company's personal lines, which include automobile and home coverage for individual consumers. The job will require about 20 hours a week, so James will be able continue her studies at UNLV.

James still hopes to open an optometry office someday -- a plan she said is aided by her work at Cutler Insurance.

"I've been able to see how an independent business operates," James said. "I've learned the inner workings of a business and the commitment and responsibility it takes to start your own business, and I've learned about the red tape you have to go through as far as getting a business off the ground."

The 11-year-old Summer Business Institute is readying a fresh crop of internships for local students like James. The objective is to address unemployment among teens and to give students meaningful work experience, Clark County business development manager Debbie Conway said.

Through March 3, the county's business development department will take applications for the 2006 class. Prospective interns must be juniors or seniors in high school or freshmen in college. The county has 100 openings through 80 businesses; participating companies have included BankWest of Nevada, The Venetian, Mandalay Bay, Bank of Commerce, Citibank and Richardson Construction Co.

Interns, who are matched with companies based on areas of career interest, will work 32 hours a week for $8 an hour. Fridays are reserved for classes.

Competition for admission to the institute is fierce: Nearly 600 students applied in 2005. A selection committee evaluates applicants on criteria including grade-point average, social activities and previous work history. The county reserves some of the jobs for inner-city students, though all interns are eligible for college scholarships after they complete the program.

But students aren't the institute's only beneficiaries.

Lloyd Cutler, owner of Cutler Insurance, said his business has employed 10 of the program's interns. All of them have contributed to his company in important ways, he said.

"I find the county's pool of kids is very talented, very hardworking and very serious," Cutler said. "We have definitely followed their suggestions in certain areas and have found that to be profitable."

Cutler said he's deployed interns in data management, customer service and sales.

"I get them in way over their heads and then watch them swim for the surface. It's kind of fun, actually," Cutler said. "I get them involved in areas where they will push the envelope of their development."

Judy Clark, vice president of operations at Clark County Credit Union, said her company also has had positive experiences with interns from the institute. One student, now at UNLV, continues to work with the credit union throughout the year, filling vacant teller posts on Mondays and Fridays. A second intern is attending Boston University, but plans to return to the credit union this summer as a temporary teller.

"We probably get as much out of it as the students do," Clark said. "Part of the program involves talking to them about their progress during each week and mentoring them. It's just very enjoyable."

Valerie Murzl, corporate vice president of human resources and training for Station Casinos, said the internships help the gaming company nurture a future work force.

Station has hosted 50 interns -- one at each of its 10 Las Vegas-area hotel-casinos -- since it joined the program five years ago. The interns have worked food and beverage, human resources, accounting, engineering and marketing.

"They get to understand a tremendous variety of positions in the casino business, and they also get to see that the positions that pay more and offer more career opportunities definitely require college or trade school," Murzl said. "For us, the biggest advantage is that we can develop relationships with young people who potentially go to trade school or college and will want to work for Station when they graduate. So you're seeding the community (with future employees)."

Conway said the county could use additional help from local businesses.

It costs $2,500 per pupil to offer the program each year. Most of that fee -- about $2,050 -- goes to wages, with the rest covering the cost of materials and workbooks for Friday classes.

In 2005, the institute used grants to cover costs for 63 of its 100 interns. Companies donated money to cover another 30 students. Seven companies put interns directly on the payroll, with the county paying for workshops. Because the county's grant money is limited, Conway is looking for businesses that can hire interns, sponsor the full $2,500 for a student or contribute money to help defray payroll or class expenses.

It's a worthy investment, Conway said. Interns who finished the program in its earlier years have returned to permanent posts at sponsoring companies including Wells Fargo and the engineering firm PBS&J.

"Businesses get young people who are eager to learn, who are very good employees and who have been trained," she said. "Some of them have made tremendous contributions to businesses by coming up with fresh ideas. They have a lot to offer employers by way of skills and talents."