YORKVILLE – Brayton Bakel of Yorkville and Brooke Guddendorf of Aurora are at very different points in their careers.

For Bakel, a 2019 graduate of Yorkville High School, his career is just about to begin.

Guddendorf, meanwhile, has 20 years experience as a schoolteacher but is looking to make a career change.

Yet the two share much in common and are now finding their way forward as interns with the Kendall County Human Resources Department.

“My struggle now is that I haven’t decided on a specific career path,” said Bakel, who will graduate from Aurora University at the end of this year with degrees in business administration and history.

Bakel considered a teaching career, but changed his mind after student-teaching. He has worked for six years at the Yorkville Target store but doesn’t see a future for himself in retail.

“I thought working for the county government would provide a different exposure than I would get from a corporation or firm,” Bakel said.

Indeed, Bakel is working on projects to catalog the county’s assets for a risk management program while updating the emergency procedures for the Kendall County Office Building in downtown Yorkville, home to the Human Resources Department.

Guddendorf also is interning for the summer and wants to transition into the corporate world in a human resources or training role.

“I want to be part of something bigger than myself,” Guddendorf said. “I want to make people feel valued and appreciated.”

A 1995 graduate of West Aurora High School, Guddendorf has degrees in education and history from Aurora University. She taught English language arts at schools up and down the Fox Valley, including Traughber Junior High School in Oswego.

Guddendorf comes from a military family that traces its roots to the American Revolution and has a passion for history.

As part of her internship, Guddendorf is creating a computer program “dashboard” mapping out the training and professional development of county employees in order to ensure that the county remains in compliance with state-mandated training requirements.

Bakel and Guddendorf said they are gaining valuable knowledge and experience from their internships.

Kendall County Human Resources Director Leslie Johnson said she and her assistant, HR generalist Tricia Springman, find that it works both ways.

“They are teaching us,” Johnson said, particularly taking note of Bakel’s and Gudendorf’s technical skills. “We’re getting new ideas and energy.”

Johnson served as the Kendall County State’s Attorney Civil Division Chief until late last year, when she was named director of the county’s brand-new Human Resources Department.

Johnson quickly hired Springman and plans to hire another generalist soon.

Including Bakel and Guddendorf, there are nine interns working for the county this summer, with the others working in administration, court services and technical areas.

For Johnson, the internship program is something of a passion project.

“I got my start from internships. I had some great mentors.”

The interns are performing a community service project, creating a little free library to be located by a children’s play area at Hoover Forest Preserve in Yorkville, Johnson said.