Parent/guardian
information page
The Senior Internship is a great learning opportunity for your student
The internship lasts for 3 weeks at the end of May. We do everything possible to find the right site for our interns, sites that will offer them
exposure to a field they're hoping to pursue
the opportunity to meet a professional in that field, who can help guide the intern's path forward
a chance to be part of a team and make a tangible contribution in the workplace setting
Applying for the internship is essentially a year-long process, so we want to make sure you are aware of everything that is expected of the seniors in order to be successful in obtaining an internship. General requirements can be found on this page. Specific details can be found in this checklist:
During the Senior Seminar class, seniors do a number of career exploration activities, which will help them narrow down the possibilities for what they would like to do as interns.
Once applications come in, internship coordinator Shannon Dandridge begins meeting with students to help figure out the best matches between individuals and sites.
We rely on many local businesses and organizations who have taken interns for many years, but we also explore new possibilities based on student interest.
What is the family's role in this process?
First, it is not your job to find your senior their own internship site. That is why we are here. Certainly we hope that you and your student will engage in conversation about possibilities, and that you will share any ideas you may have about the type of site you think would benefit your student.
We feel strongly that a significant part of the learning experience for the students is to forge connections with people previously unknown to them. For this reason, it's our preference to place students in sites where they don't already know anyone, to develop their professional interpersonal skills. However, if there is a professional in their world - a friend of the family, an aunt or uncle - who can offer a site in a field that is particularly challenging (medicine, engineering, psychology, and the like), we are open to considering the possibility.
One important element of the program is that interns must provide their own transportation. This does not mean that they have their own car, but that they can find their way to their site without our involvement.