Senior classrooms have gone quiet.
A journalism class that was once filled with 21 students has now gone down to a staggering 8. Where has everyone gone?
The answer lies in internships.
Wood End Elementary School
A student sits in his chair, his eyes blankly looking at a book. A look of sadness covers his face as the rest of his group members work together, seemingly interested in what they are reading about. Antonia Zagami (‘24) is the first to notice this strange behavior as it was out of the ordinary. He was usually an energetic kid who was always up for some conversation, and Zagami had yet to see this type of attitude from him.
She pulled a chair next to him and asked him what was wrong. He didn’t pick up his head to look at her and instead continued to stare at his unopened book on whales. She asked again but still he didn’t answer. She proceeded to pick up the book and open it, trying her best to try and engage him in his reading. Within a couple of minutes, Zagami was able to crack a smile on his face and make what he before saw as a boring book, now a source of pure entertainment.
“Miss Antonia!” another girl shouts from across the room and waves her over. Zagami walked over and knelt beside her desk. The girl was eager to share with Zagami the fascinating information she had just learned about polar bears. Most kids seemed very comfortable speaking to her and asking her for help with their animal research projects.
Zagami has been interning at Wood End Elementary School for the past two months. Working an average of 5 hours a day she helps assist kids who need more help, prints copies for the teacher, and helps grade assignments. She starts her internship at 8, leaves at 9 for her AP government class, and then comes back to Woodend from 10:45 to 2:45. Zagami finds it somewhat difficult to manage her time but yet again that is just one skill that having an internship helps her practice. Zagami explains “Although I don’t plan on majoring in elementary education, I may find myself wanting to do something that involves working with kids and this internship allows me to start practicing those skills.”
Next year Zagami plans on majoring in legal studies at UMass Amherst and she hopes that she will be able to use the knowledge that she has learned from working with elementary students and apply it later on in her life.
Radiance Dental
Zagami is one of the 185 or so students who have decided to intern for the last two months of the school year. Natalie Wall (‘24) is another example of an RMHS senior who is participating in the high school internship program. Wall has been interning at Radiance Dental and works a total of 16 hours a week. Her morning routine starts with her turning on all the computers and logging in, putting on scrubs, and looking at the schedule to see what patients will be coming in. During her time working at the clinic she shadowed Dr. Su doing patient’s cavity fillings and cleanings. Dr. Su, who is the doctor assistant at Radiance Dental, was thrilled to share, “I was very surprised to see how quickly Natalie picked everything up.”
Wall was sitting at the office chair and ready to greet the patient coming in. She began asking questions like, “Is your address still…?” “Has your insurance changed?” “Could I have an emergency contact number?” The patient thoroughly answered all these questions and Wall proceeded to tell her that she was all set and the women took a seat. Checking in patients for their appointments is but one task that Wall is expected to do during her time at her internship.
Dentistry is something Wall has always been interested in. Her great-grandfather and her grandfather were both dentists and she thought it would be something that she would also enjoy and could make a future career out of. Her internship at Radiance Dental has allowed her to see if it was something she was interested in possibly pursuing later on. Now, reflecting on the past two months of being on this internship, she reveals, “The whole experience has been awesome.”
Academic Lab
Located in the RMHS library, Nick Belous’s (‘24) internship is in the academic lab. This “lab” is intended to help support students who need extra help in a subject and through his internship Belous helps do so. Students from all grades have access to the academic lab and several use it to their advantage. Belous specifically helps students who need extra help in math. Students go to the designated tables in the library that are reserved for academic labs and bring their worksheets or computers so that Belous can try and help them. Belous currently takes AP BC calculus with Mr.Skehan and therefore has an advanced understanding of math.
Senior at RMHS, Grace Hattery (‘24) was struggling and overwhelmed with her upcoming AP Statistic test. The very day of her test she had come into the academic lab where Belous was and asked for help on specific questions. Belous seemed to explain the problem very thoroughly and made sure that she understood what he meant as he went through it. After having visited the academic lab, Hattery shared that she felt much more confident and in the end, it proved to have significantly helped her on the test.
For all those doing internships, there is a final project requirement. This project entails an 8-12 minute slideshow presentation covering the student’s internship experience and what they have learned from it. This presentation is expected to be shown either in person or recorded.
It is certain that with internships come great benefits as it gives students a first taste of the workforce. It provides them with skills that they can then use as they carry on with their lives. For many, that means college and then finding a job, and thanks to this internship program, possibly a future career in dentistry for Wall.
