Food is an international language at the YMCA of the Rockies.
Inside the bustling dining halls and well-orchestrated kitchen, young interns from around the world are learning far more than how to prepare and serve meals—they’re gaining cultural exchange, leadership, and skills for life.
The interns are from 22 countries, where they are studying hospitality-related fields. They represent far-away places from Thailand to South America to Eastern Europe, and they help prepare and serve 9,000 meals daily in peak season.
“We are the second-largest food service operation in northern Colorado, behind UNC, I believe,” said food & beverage director Michael Kingston of the YMCA of the Rockies’ Estes Park Center. “And the third in the state, behind the Air Force Academy,” he added.
Kingston oversees 19 year-round staff who manage as many as 115 seasonal workers in the summer. Interns don’t just watch from the sidelines; they take the lead.
“We’re giving them responsibility. By mid to end of the program, they’re writing the menu and running the kitchen,” Kingston said. “The chef and sous chef will take a back seat. The intern will call the shots—dictating responsibilities, organizing everyone. It’s about communication, timing, and leadership.”
Kingston says the program transforms lives, one intern at a time.
Building skills beyond the kitchen
“The goal of our program, both internationally and domestically, is to get young people from all over the world—including the United States—and mentor them, teach them a life skill, and send them home with an experience they can share for a lifetime,” Kingston said.
Vicente Garcia, an intern from the Dominican Republic, is now on his fourth J-1 exchange trip with the food & beverage program. “It helped me with my career, helped me gain more communication skills, develop my leadership skills, and connect with people all over,” he said. His advice to other students considering the program is short and sweet: “Just do it.”
Cultural exchange on the menu
The menu isn’t just about American cuisine. At the YMCA’s International Fair, hosted biannually, interns are encouraged to share their cultures through food. The event encourages interns to prepare dishes from their home countries, wear traditional dress, and share stories from their homes with the Estes Park community.
This summer’s fair drew an estimated 500 attendees and featured cuisine from a variety of home cultures. Guests sampled food, mingled, and talked with the interns about their clothing, flags, and traditions.
“It’s not meant to be a buffet,” Kingston said. “It’s about mingling, tasting, and having real conversations.”
In addition to the fair, interns often propose smaller “pop-up” meals, preparing dishes from their countries in the employee dining room. The YMCA sources ingredients and supports them as they cook. “It’s their chance to teach us,” Kingston said. “And the staff loves it.”
From intern to leader
For some, the YMCA experience sparks careers that come full circle. Former food service intern Amanda Mauldin now serves as director of international hiring for YMCA of the Rockies, overseeing recruitment across three properties. Her rise from intern to senior staff highlights the program’s long-term impact.
Another intern, Amairani Rodriguez, points to the leadership lessons she’s gained. “I’ve learned how to manage people, develop leadership skills, and take responsibility for a place. I’ve grown so much here,” she said.
During her internship, Rodriguez also learned office management, including scheduling, creating reports, and managing deliveries. “I cannot explain how much I’ve learned here,” she said.
More than a summer job
Kingston says the most rewarding part of his job is watching interns grow. “We’ve never had a participant who didn’t succeed,” he says. “Some arrive shy, unable to look you in the eye. But by the time they finish, they can run a room, write a menu, and lead a team. It’s all about that transformation,” he said.
The YMCA’s Food and Beverage internship program aligns with the organization’s larger mission: to build spirit, mind, and body for all. It’s also a chance for the Estes Park community to see its town’s global impact.
A global program with local impact
Food is more than sustenance when viewed through the lens of the internship program.
For the community, it’s a chance to taste, learn, and connect across cultures. For interns like Garcia and Rodriguez, it’s an opportunity that changes how they see the world.
As Kingston said, “We put a lot of energy into our interns because we believe in them. They leave here better than they came, which makes this program so special.”
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