Internship Program Enriching Students’ School Lives

Did you know that Lake Shore High School’s life skills class has the amazing opportunity of going on internships two times a week? I recently had the chance to go into the life skills classroom and interview the students. Their  internships occur every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:45 am to 11:00 am.

The students are chosen by their teachers to go to respective positions, and that decision is based on a few things. One of them is  if they have been at that place of business before for an internship in the past.The second way students are picked is based on if they have any allergies that might affect their work at a specific business. The students share some of the same internships,which allows for bonding and team building.

Shane Codd, Lisa Watts, and Tyler Hamm are all at the Lake Shore middle school’s library. Their daily tasks include dusting the shelves, putting new stickers on the spine, fixing the books if they are not all even, and painting the desks to give them new life. There are many great parts to being in the library but all three students had a specific thing that makes their internship really fun for them. Lisa said that, “I just loves working in the library.” Shane likes doing the hands-on work of painting the desks. Tyler ́s favorite part is ̈being with all the books.” The students all agree that the internship has taught them how to run and clean a library.

Michael Nowak and Kris Kessel both work at the Tops in Angola. They specifically stock shelves in the dairy department.Kris said his favorite part “is being with his friend Michael.” Michael also loves “being with his friend Kris.”Michael and Kris both have love to learn how to stock shelves and tidy up a store.

Domenica Cala, Kyle Biel, and Jordan Jones all enjoy an internship within our school. All three students work in the school store. Kyle and Domenica (Minnie) sell all the food and drinks to all of the student customers. Jordan works the register, she takes money and makes change if needed. Kyle and Minnie’s favorite part of their job is getting to enjoy the delicious popcorn that is served within the school store. Jordan enjoys “seeing all the students and serving them.” Jordan stated that her internship has taught her “to make good choices.”

Kassie Mayne and Brandon Klee both work at Creature Comforts. Their daily tasks include sweeping and mopping, cleaning windows, cleaning dog dishes and cleaning the dog kennels. Kassie and Brandon both agree the best part of their internship is “seeing all the dogs and cats.” THis internship has taught Brandon and Kassie many new things. Kassie says” it taught me how to be happy and work with others as a team.” Brandon had stated “it taught me how to be more responsible.” in his work setting. Kassie and Brandon both love seeing the animals go to good homes and love to help them.

Adenan Abdulla has three internships but wanted to talk about a specific one, Cala’s Kitchen. Adenan’s daily tasks include peeling and washing potatoes and washing any dirty dishes there might be.He said the best part of his internship is “peeling the potatoes.” He has said that his internship has taught him “ how to work and act in a kitchen setting and be safe in the kitchen.” Adenan loves having the satisfaction of getting the job done.

These internships not only give students hands-on experience but a sense of what being an adult is like. The teachers have seen many benefits of internships with the students like “learning by doing the” different aspects of employment and the personal growth that goes along with it. The internship program in the life skills classroom has been going on for over seven years, and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. The program has many benefits for the students and our community.