For teens and others, nailing down summer work can be a challenge. But thanks to his zeal for “hands-on” projects, Eli Sanger, a recent graduate of The Bear Creek School in Redmond, has been selected for a Construction Volunteer Lead (CVL) internship through a Seattle-based organization called TIPS (Teens In Public Service).

Starting June 23, Sanger will work from 8 a.m.-4:40 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, supervising and training volunteers for Habitat for Humanity East King County.

Sanger said the summer opportunity is a perfect fit.

“In tenth grade I went on a mission trip called Ensenada Team Missions with the youth group from Crossroads Bible Church in Eastgate. It was a great experience because I got to work with my hands to help people in need. I love to work with my hands and it was this experience that helped me become so excited about my placement at Habitat for Humanity,” he explained.

Construction experience was not a strict requirement for this position. Yet according to a job description from TIPS, “CVLs should be comfortable working and developing relationships with people they have never met on a relatively quick basis. CVLs should be personable, easy-going and communicative.”

Sanger commented, “Last summer and the summer before, I worked at Willows Run Golf Course and even though I loved the benefits, I didn’t really enjoy the job. Probably my least favorite job was called ‘clean pick.’ Every Sunday night, we would pick the entire driving range clean of all the range balls so that the driving range could be mowed the next morning.”

That sounds less than thrilling.

“It wasn’t all bad, though,” Sanger noted. “I got to drive plenty of golf carts and since I love everything on wheels, I loved that part of the job.”

Eli’s mom Kristen Sanger, a former teacher at The Bear Creek School, suggested, “Ask him about the blue tractor.”

Eli explained, “My mom loves this story. My family used to live on a blueberry farm in Monroe and we used to have this large, blue Ford tractor. On the front tractor was a bucket that was raised and lowered by a set of hydraulic pistons. When I was five, I used my dad’s tools to disconnect all of the hydraulics. Since I had no idea where all the pipes connected, my parents had to pay a repairman $150 to fix the hydraulics. That incident was one of the first proofs of a future engineer.”

In fact, Eli is enrolled in the Honors College at the University of Pittsburgh this fall, where he’ll major in mechanical engineering.

During his years at The Bear Creek School, he performed almost 300 hours of community service, accumulated from his mission trip, helping with soccer camps and building desks for the Lower School art teacher. Favorite high school memories included “winning state for soccer in 2006 with three or four of my classmates also on the team,” he said.

Cathy Michalec, executive director for TIPS, said 417 teens applied for this summer’s internships. Of those, 316 were interviewed over a three-week period by a two-member team made up of a past intern and community volunteers. Each candidate was ranked and rated. Ten percent of TIPS applicants were accepted this year, down from 20 percent last year.

TIPS interns don’t choose their positions, but are matched by their skills and interests to the needs of non-profits.

For more information, visit www.teensinpublicservice.org, e-mail tips@teensinpublicservice.org or call (206) 985-4647.