Now in their second week, the students work at the shops from 1 to 3 p.m. every school day, gaining valuable experience and insight on possible careers.
"It gives me a head start to see what it's like in the shop," Brockberg said Monday. He's not sure he'll go into auto mechanics for a living, but this will help him decide.
"I'm leaving my options open," he said. "I've always liked to fix things and do stuff in the yard.
This just helps me expand my horizons."
So far, Dreckman said the arrangement with Brockberg is working out well. "We help him learn things in the business, and he's getting his hands dirty," Dreckman said.
At the same time, the businesses are finding ways the arrangement helps them, too. For example, one day when things were busy at Luverne Body Shop, Mary Aaker said De Kam washed up a car that was ready to be returned to a customer.
"It's an extra set of hands when he's here, too," she said.
The decision to take on an intern goes beyond the work that's getting done, the business owners say.
Aaker said when Luverne High School offered the auto body and auto mechanics programs, any student who wanted to see what those jobs were like had the chance to find out.
"Now they don't anymore," he said. "This way a few can have the opportunity to try it."