Port San Antonio's 2025 Summer Interns, who represented the Edgewood and South San Antonio independent school districts and are pictured with WEX Foundation team member Kat Bolish (center), are (l-r): Stephanie Ortiz; Diego Cervantes; Robert Rodriguez; Daniel Enriquez; Sofia Villarreal; Rene De La Cruz, Jr.; Arturo Ruiz; Neveen Guardiola; Brianna Cortinas; and Esteban Granados. 

SAN ANTONIO, TX — A group of bright students are part of Port San Antonio's fourth cohort of summer interns. The young women and men have gained new skills that will help them with their eventual career paths. 

The ten students from the Edgewood and South San Antonio independent school districts spent six weeks this summer as paid employees alongside the Port team. During this time, they supported various departments, including construction and property management, information technology (IT), and communications, as the organization continues to expand its 1,900-acre technology innovation campus southwest of downtown while attracting and growing major industries. 

The students also had the opportunity to see first-hand several of the technology innovations being developed on the Port campus. This includes meeting with industry professionals in the aerospace, cybersecurity and space exploration sectors. 

Below is a week-by-week first-hand account of the students' experiences during the 2025 summer internship program. 

Week 1 (June 9 - 13) 

This week kicked off an incredible journey for us as summer interns with Port San Antonio!

We are thrilled to represent the South San Antonio and Edgewood independent school districts, diving headfirst into the dynamic worlds of communications, IT, leasing and property management. As we help strengthen the region's largest tech hub, were gaining valuable workplace experience and making connections that will shape our futures.

After meeting the other interns, we were introduced to the members of the Port team we will be working with this summer. Every staff member is kind and welcoming, quickly putting us at ease and making us feel at home.

Our first field trip of the summer took us to Astroport Space Technologies, located on the Port campus. We learned many fascinating things about space technologies, such as the materials that will be necessary for making livable structures on the moon, as well as future plans for space exploration. Thank you to the Astroport team for leading us on this tour!

We also had the pleasure of meeting the Ports board of directors. They are extremely supportive of us in our journey as interns and are excited to see our growth over the next few weeks and beyond.

We look forward to seeing what the Port San Antonio internship program has in store for us next!

Week 2 (June 16 - 20)

As we continue our journey as Port San Antonio interns, we have gotten to know many of the organization's team members - including our CEO Jim Perschbach and Board Chair Margaret Wilson-Anaglia. They shared encouraging advice for our future careers and gave us insight into the many opportunities available at the Port. 

We also learned more about the Port campus and its unique history as an Air Force base, including the various buildings and structures that have been repurposed as spaces for some of San Antonio's top companies. 

We continued collaborating with one another and were able to observe how each team at the Port plays a unique role on a day-to-day basis. This includes our dedicated leasing team, who provided us with a behind-the-scenes look of what goes into preparing a space for one of the Port's customers to occupy. 

We're excited to see what the next few weeks have to offer! 

Week 3 (June 23 - 27)

This week we got to take part in several different tours around the port camps that were very fun and informative!

First, Plus One robotics gave us a behind-the-scenes look at how their technology allows humans to collaborate with robots in a variety of warehouse settings. This collaboration allows the robots to scan packages, while humans can be more productive in other roles.

Our next tour took us to us to Knight Aerospace's facility. We learned how the company is making "portable emergency rooms" that can be loaded onto cargo planes to help transport and treat patients.

Finally, we got to visit SAMSAT's AREA 21 museum space, along with the LAN gaming center, which are both located at the Boeing center. We had an interactive experience with a variety of STEM-based exhibits, including the Boeing flight simulator that allowed us to experience flying a F15 aircraft. We also learned about the many career opportunities that are offered in industries such as aerospace, robotics, and cybersecurity.

Week 4 & 5 (June 30- July 11)

Over the last two weeks, we visited with several partners on the Port campus who are making a difference in a variety of ways.  

First, we got an in-depth look at StandardAero’s growing San Antonio site, where we saw the work that goes into maintaining and repairing engines that are used in aircraft around the world.

Next, we had a relaxing experience at Good Energy Ranch, which offers art and wellness classes that foster creativity. We learned how to knit, which is one of the many activities offered at Good Energy Ranch. We were even given our own knitting kits to practice with at home!

For our last tour, we visited the Alamo Regional Security Operations Center (ARSOC), which helps protect our networks while identifying cyber threats. We saw how the building is equipped with accommodations, like dorm rooms, for their workers to be able to work around the clock to ensure everything runs smoothly.

We also shadowed one of our maintenance crew members, Alejandro Escalera, as he gave us a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into a routine safety checkup for one of our buildings here at the Port.

We look forward to next week as we prepare for our graduation ceremony!

Week 6 (July 14-18)

This week, we wrapped up our incredible internship at the Port with a graduation celebration!

For our final assignment, we produced a video for social media that encourages the community to explore the Boeing Center and all it has to offer.

From collaborating with different departments to experiencing exciting field trips, we've packed our bags with skills and knowledge that are sure to make our future endeavors a blast! Here's to the next chapter of success!

Graduation Day