When picking senior year classes, there are new class choices that hadn’t been available in the first three years of high school. One of these senior-exclusive classes is Internship.
In this full year class, each semester has a specific intention. The first semester focuses on career research and preparation for post high school plans. In the second semester, the students look for an internship in the community in their chosen field.
The second semester focuses on “learning and gaining experience,” the internship teacher, Mrs. Woz, explains.
Lauren Piotrowski, senior internship student, is currently doing her internship at the East Lyme Police Department.
Pitrowski says, “I want to be a cop when I’m older, so it’s definitely a great experience to get to be around more cops and the department.”
The internship class provides many benefits to the students in the class. Pitrowski explains, “You are able to gain experience and familiarity in the job you want to pursue, all during school hours, and it helps you become more comfortable in a professional workplace.”
Pitrowski says she’d recommend this class to everyone, saying, “It gives you an opportunity to determine if the job you’re interested in is something you actually want to pursue. For me, my internship made me more excited to be a cop, but I know for some other people it made them realize they actually didn’t want that job.”
Audra Fiano, another student in the class and future nurse, is doing her internship at Backus Hospital. She says, “At Backus I’ve been doing a bunch of different rotations between departments to make sure I have a good understanding for the foundation of healthcare.”
“I think that it gives me exposure to different healthcare settings and possible specialties that I might like to go into. It also could potentially set me up with a job in the future with the connections I’ve been making because I’II probably end up back in Connecticut.”
With all of her successes, Fiano explains some of the issues she faced with her internship. She says, “I started out in cardiology and really did not like it. It was very repetitive and just not for me. I advocated for myself and switched into orthopedic and they really just put me anywhere at this point.”
“I’ve been in urology, oncology, just the orthopedic floor in general, same day surgery, and with PT and OT. I am having a much more enjoyable experience now.”
Whether seniors are planning to go college, enter the workforce, explore trades, enlist in the military, or pursue any other plans after high school, the internship class poses great opportunities for all students.
