Internship Academy is a program introduced to juniors where they have opportunity to get internships and get professional insight.  Students join in the second half of the school year, and have many options of where to get an internship. Most preparation is done at the end of junior year, but the internship usually takes place the next summer or during senior year.

“This class has allowed me to pursue my desire to become a doctor and revealed that it is a position I could actually see myself doing,” senior Myka Gutridge said.

The program offers a lot of opportunities to learn from things like mock interviews and formatting a resume properly.  It aims to provide real life experiences that will serve students in the future, without consuming all of their time.

“I really like the program because it is flexible, and it doesn’t overload you with course work but gives you assignments that are beneficial to your program,” senior Makayla Engebrits said.

Throughout their internships, students learn firsthand what their future career would be like in reality.

“The main aspect of the job is observing,” Gutridge said. “I have seen several cool procedures including the resetting of a fibula fracture, a paracentesis, ultrasounds, X-rays, as well as my first dead body.”

The program offers a wide variety of internships, as Gutridge’s experience exemplifies. At the same time, Engebrits has became involved in a project with her own internship, which takes on the challenge of completing acts of kindness around her community.

“I intern at Kids for Peace which is a nonprofit organization,” Engebrits said. “I help with whatever they need done, but usually they’re orders and programs such as the Do It for Peace campaign.” 

Internships allow for a hands-on experience that gear students toward their field of interest. It gives them an idea of whether they want that specific job, something similar or the complete opposite.

“I like internship academy because it provides students a way to discover whether or not they actually like the career they’ve set out to do,” Gutridge said.