Summer Intern Experience 2026
By: Kelly Youmans, Title Services, Inc., Huntsville, AL
Title Searching needs new eyes training for the future. Understanding the organization of information, analyzing documents, using good notetaking strategies, spatial aptitude, and an affinity for detective work, all with a focus on critical risk assessment, are just a few of the skills needed for this job.
Through a flagship program created by LTAAL’s Executive Director, Anna Batten, our firm interviewed 3 high school seniors for a Summer Intern position designed as an introduction to the world of title searching. During the interview, we showed them a tax map of their high school, a plat to a nearby neighborhood, then a tax record and deed to a property in that neighborhood. To test their ability to read cursive writing, we showed them how a page from an index book is organized and asked them to find a particular name. All 3 candidates did extremely well and we selected Kaylee Gawronski, a rising Senior from Grissom High School in Huntsville.
We began with the basics: an overview of a real estate transaction, the need for searches, runsheets and Title Data Sheets, types of Deeds, Grantor/Grantee and interest in property, and Policies/Exceptions. We covered Plats, Lot/Block, using tax records and tax maps as a place to begin, Probate records and how document numbers have changed, Direct/Reverse searches, Index books (including a hands-on field trip to those big books in the Archives!), searching name variations, Liens, Mortgages and the all-important Release, Easements and Subdivision restrictions.
As we continue, we’ll focus on applying these new skills to project-based work, gradually getting more complicated: Land tracts and less & excepts, drawing out m&b using software and by hand, new subdivision phases, commercial title, Estates, claims, divorces and foreclosures. We will show how Probate and Tax sites appear in different formats in other counties, enabling remote work throughout Alabama. Finally, a fun project that sparks interest is for the intern to search title for their own home and then share with family.
Working with a high school student is very rewarding. Kaylee is a quick learner who is genuinely interested in the research process and the business side of real estate. Her excellent computer skills make teaching easy, and it’s fun to share with her some of the “old-school” ways we search title.
A summer’s worth of title searching skills is a valuable introduction to land title for any young student exploring career opportunities. Learning new skills in an office environment and participating in real-world business activity will help launch interns onto potential career paths. We’re excited to be sharing our knowledge and expertise with the next generation of searchers!
