This year marks the third class of interns since the launch of the S.H.S. Internship program. As the name suggests, internships give students the opportunity to gain real-world experience in their future careers of interest. The internship program has been evolving since 2020, but due to COVID restrictions, it didn’t become a reality until 2022.
Internship teacher Rebecca Koerner, the founder of the program, said, “Mr. (Jason) Austin and I were discussing that we thought it was a great idea to implement in the kids schedules to experience the jobs before actually going into it.”
Students have had the opportunity to intern at various local businesses, including CGH Medical Center, United Electric, Happy Tails, Franklin Elementary School, Sauk Valley Bank, and the Sterling Police Department.
The program begins with students in the classroom for the first three weeks discussing jobs of interest, rules and guidelines permitting each work citation, creating resumes, and completing an aptitude test to see if they would be a good fit for their desired career. Students participate in a variety of group activities in the classroom to help them prepare before heading off to their site placements. Following this, students meet with their supervisors before embarking on their internship journeys.
Each student is required to complete a minimum of 30 hours per semester, spending at least two and a half hours a week at their placement. Koerner meets with students once a month to discuss how interning is going at their placement, and potential college and career paths post high school. She said her ultimate goal is to “have all types of students be able to participate in the class and have equal opportunities.”
Senior DeVonte Heckman, who is interning at Advanced Animal Health Center in Rock Falls, said his interning experience has been “pretty good for what I want to do in college because I want to be a veterinarian and I get the opportunity to see how the owners treat the animals.”
Heckman observes the animals during their check-ups, vaccinations, and any treatment being received. Sometimes, he even gets the chance to be hands on and help by clipping the animals’ nails or giving certain medications.
United Electric intern senior Ivan Marin said he has enjoyed his time there as he wants to pursue a career as an electrician.
Marin said, “It helps with my career and gives me the opportunity to be hands on with all of the electrical stuff.”
Senior Zain Khan is interning at Sterling ReMax and plans to pursue a real estate career. A typical day for Khan usually consists of looking at properties and helping with paperwork.
Khan said, “This has been very helpful for me because it gives me the real world version of real estate rather than what I had imagined in my head. It has also helped me figure out if real estate is for me instead of just jumping straight into it as a profession.”
The program started out with 18 students and 14 different work sites and has now grown to 47 students and 16 different work sites. The S.H.S. internship program has provided students with many opportunities not only to experience different career paths but also building rapport with their advisors for future references as well as teaching them how to operate as cohesive teams.
