We Energies, Milwaukee Schools Partnership Opens Career Doors for Students
Utility offers apprenticeships for high school students that lead to jobs in the industry.
Mickey Critton explains the work he does at We Energies on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in West Allis, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Working at We Energies was not part of Mickey Critton’s plan, but it was the only way he could go back to high school with his friends.
Critton says he wasn’t the best kid. After unsuccessful stints at two different Milwaukee public high schools, his parents pulled him out and sent him to Arrowhead High School in Hartland his junior year.
Critton hated the commute and the environment.
So his mom made him a deal: Critton could go back to a Milwaukee Public School if he joined the district’s internship program with We Energies.
Mickey Critton shows different tools and materials he uses Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at We Energies in West Allis, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
The utility offers field internships and youth apprenticeship programs to high school juniors and seniors at Milwaukee County schools in three areas: line mechanics, gas technicians and distribution system designers.
Hundreds of students apply for the internship each year, but only about 30 are selected, said Jennifer Buchanan, who runs the program for We Energies.
About 15 line mechanics, six gas technicians and six designers have been hired full-time annually since the program began about six years ago.
Critton says he didn’t plan on staying at We Energies very long, but that soon changed.
“In my head, I thought, ‘OK, I’ll go do We Energies, probably not get hired, or just quit after I graduate,’” Critton said. “I just wanted to get back to school at home.”
Mickey Critton explains the tools he uses on the job Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at We Energies in West Allis, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Once Critton started working as a gas technician. He had to stop smoking. And he had to get to work every day by 7 a.m.
At first, the internship requirements were irritating. Then his attitude began to change.
“I just started thinking, dude, what else are you going to do?” Critton said. “I saw my peers around me and realized how grateful and blessed I was.”
Through a partnership with MPS, Critton received free transportation to his job sites every morning — there was no excuse not to get to work.
And he has gotten to travel around the state.
“I never was anywhere outside of Milwaukee,” he said. “But so far, I’ve been to West Bend. Right now I’m working in Waukesha. I got sent to Green Bay for training , so I got to see the Packer stadium. If you don’t go somewhere, you don’t know if you’re missing out on something nice.”
Critton graduated from Milwaukee School of Languages in 2024. He now works full-time as a gas distribution apprentice with We Energies.
“For me to have zero college experience, not knowing what to do, this is like, amazing,” Critton said. “I couldn’t ask for it no better. Truly blessed.”
A training area is set up for students to get hands-on experience Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at We Energies in West Allis, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Buchanan says when she hears stories like Critton’s it makes her feel “warm and fuzzy.”
“This is not just about what it does for We Energies, but it’s about the community,” Buchanan said. “They are giving back to the community. Whether it’s people at their previous schools or their family members. It’s a ripple effect.”
Seniya Debois is a pre-designer at We Energies where she creates blueprints for crews that go underground in the field.
She says the job is like a puzzle because there are so many obstacles that can’t be seen from above ground.
“There may be a pipe in the way, or a fence or a lack of space,” she said. “You have to think about the crew, can this truck fit here? It’s a lot of problem solving.”
When Debois was a junior at Brown Deer High School she excelled in woodworking and construction classes. Her teacher suggested she join the We Energies program.
“My dad is a plumber and I would go on jobs with him all the time and I thought that was pretty cool” she said. “And then when I came here and saw the actual designers, I was like yeah, I can get down with this.”
We Energies partners with Milwaukee Area Technical College on the design training apprenticeships. Debois is working part-time while getting her associate’s degree in civil engineering.
Kashmir Griffin, an apprentice, explains his work Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at We Energies in West Allis, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Kashmir Griffin is just a few years ahead of Debois. He started the pre-design program in 2021. He stuck with it, attended MATC and graduated from college last year.
Now he’s an apprentice.
“It made it feel worth it, going to school, because I knew where my destination was going to be,” Griffin said. “So even on the hard days, I knew I’m working towards something.”
We Energies, Milwaukee schools partnership opens career doors for high school students was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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