Summer Intern Gabe Gives Rare Interview!

This past summer we had the privilege of having Gabe, one of the original students in our iDEA high school class, as our Summer Jobs 253 intern. In honor of Gabe and all the work he put in during his summer at the shop, we decided to interview him and put it up as a blog post!

Q: Tell us about the first time you visited Second Cycle and how you came to work here.

A: Well, my crank arm fell off. I had just finished building my first bike for myself as part of the iDEA class and I rode it to Hilltop to see what the main shop was like. I was a few blocks away when the whole thing fell off! When I got to the shop, someone showed me how to properly torque down the bottom bracket bolt and keep the crank on, and that was it.

I applied to work at the shop after Noah mentioned the Summer Jobs 253 program. He said I should apply and try to be the summer intern at Second Cycle, so I did.

Q: Do you have a memory from the summer that stands out as a time that you learned something about yourself or grew in some way?

A: I think the main thing I learned is the difference between helping someone who needs it and letting someone who doesn’t need help do their own thing. Sometimes people just want to browse or work on their own bike without any help.

Q: What were your favorite and least favorite parts about working at the shop this summer?

A: My favorite part of the whole summer was coming up with puns with Emily. She’s a master punster. I told her her puns are so bad that I “cantilever,” like I can’t believe her. I was proud of that one. As far as least favorite stuff goes, you always have some unpleasant interactions with customers working in any job, but it wasn’t ever too bad.

Q: Is it true you became more professional this summer? Your teachers told us you’re a changed man. What do you say to these rumors?

A: Lies! All lies. I’ll never be professional.