Shaclyya Richardson, Ashley Brown and Aurielle Boyd are three of the 110 students that are working for the city of Selma during this year’s summer job program.

Richardson, a 19-year-old student at Wallace Community College Selma, has been working in the legal department.

“Right now, I’m just getting Selma stories out of the newspaper and putting them in a binder,” Richardson said. “I get the important stuff that goes on, on different days and put them in the binder.”

Richardson said although she may not go into legal work after college, it’s helpful to learn new skills.

“[Legal secretary Sarah Jones] has been showing me how to greet people and answer the phone,” Richardson said. “You need to know how to talk to people and do what someone tells you to do in the right way.”

Richardson tried to participate in the program last summer but was not chosen in the lottery that selects students.

Selma Mayor Darrio Melton said the summer job program is a great way for the students to gain experience and prepare for the workforce.

“The exposure and experience is good, we believe, to help prepare for future endeavors,” Melton said. “It’s good for teaching how to be prompt for work, how to follow details and other things that comes along with working inside these different departments.”

Melton said he is glad to be able to provide the jobs to the students.

“To know that we can provide those experiences preparing the next generation of the workforce is good for us,” Melton said.

Melton said a summer job is a great way for students to save money, especially for those going off to college.

“It’s good knowing that you have a little bit of money stashed on the side to get some basic necessities that you need,” Melton said. “While it may not be a great amount, it’s something that can assist in those first few months in college.”

That’s exactly why Richardson wanted to participate. In addition to another job and being a DJ, she wanted to work with the city to save up money.

“I signed up to get some extra money because in August I’ll be going off to college,” Richardson said. “All these checks are going toward my college.”

Brown and Boyd are both 16-year-old students at Selma High School and both are working in the code enforcement office this summer.

“It was really exciting [to be chosen],” Brown said. “I was actually kind of nervous because I didn’t think my name was going to be called. I was the second to the last one to be called, and I was really excited.”

Boyd said the program is a great way for her to learn some skills early on.

“If I didn’t learn these things, I probably wouldn’t know how to work in the workforce when I get older,” Boyd said. “This is a great experience for me to learn how to work now instead of later on.”

The summer job program is held by the city every year and will run from June 13- July 25 this year.

The student workers are paid minimum wage and work in various departments within the city.