TAYLOR, Texas — After spending her entire life in Taylor, Texas, high school student Abigail Aplin admitted her thought was, “I've got to get out of here when I graduate.”
It’s understandable. There didn't used to be much reason for young people like Aplin to stick around in Taylor.
Until the big news two years ago: Samsung was planning to build the largest semiconductor plant in the world in their hometown.
“A huge deal,” Aplin said of the announcement.
And the plant would bring more than just jobs.
“This internship introduced me to my passion,” Aplin said. “Which sounds crazy, but it is true for me.”
Aplin is one of nearly two dozen Taylor ISD students who just wrapped up a six-week summer internship with Samsung.
Kenny Calvo was on Aplin's team. This was his second Samsung internship in as many years.
“My mom tells me like, 'Man, kid, you've already got it going,'" he said. "'Your future's already set up for you.' [Working at Samsung is] an option in the cards for me.”
That kind of card wouldn't have been dealt when Mayor Brandt Rydell was growing up in Taylor.
"The best I could aspire was to count bugs in a field," Rydell joked. “Realistically speaking, there weren't a lot of opportunities for me to come back to.”
But the opportunities came – thanks, in large part, to Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell, who helped negotiate the deal with Samsung.
“Whether they want to be a lawyer or environmental engineer, they now, for the first time, have the opportunity to come back in their own community and work someday. And I think that's amazing," Gravell said.
And, according to the judge, this is just Phase 1.
"It's only the beginning,” he said. “Wait and see what this partnership brings.”
Samsung has committed to at least 28 more years of internships. Some Taylor ISD students have already been offered jobs at Samsung after completing more training.
Williamson County is also doing similar internship programs with other companies coming to town.
As for the Samsung factory, the first semiconductor chips are expected to roll off the line no later than late next year.