By MYLE NGUYEN
On Wednesday, May 30, 2013, Malden High School held their annual senior internship exhibition in the Finn Gym. Seniors were able to share their learning experiences to MHS students, staff, and other members of the Malden community, including Mayor Gary Christenson.
Senior internship is a program that allows seniors to gain real life experience by working in fields that interest them. First, seniors must submit proposals that detail their internship, which must be approved by the Senior Internship Committee. Before they start interning, seniors also have to find a guide who will assist them on their worksite and a mentor, who is a MHS staff member, responsible for monitoring their performance throughout the program. After completing the internship, seniors have to write a paper about their experiences and create a presentation for the exhibition.
For their project, seniors are able to choose internships at various work sites that interests them. “Find something outside of your comfort zone, something that [you have] never done before,” advised senior Mona Cheng, who interned at Senator Katherine Clark’s office. This year, internship sites had a great range of varieties, from the high school itself to hospitals, salons, and restaurants.
Internships are beneficial to students in many ways. It “gives students an idea of what the real world will be like,” explained Valentine Banor, a senior who interned to the main office at MHS to create an application for mobile devices called the Tornado Hub For students looking to do internship later on, MHS history teacher and Senior Internship Committee member, Kevin Kilbride advises to “get your proposals in early and make sure [they are] done well.” Senior Natalie Melo, who interned with Tina Dinh and Sharon Lee to coordinate Family Science Night, said to “be aware because [it is] more work than you think it is.” Interns have to work a minimum of thirty hours per week for five weeks. Chenoa Capasso, who worked with fifth and sixth graders for her internship, also advised future interns to “go somewhere they will enjoy because five weeks is a long time.”
Overall, senior internship is great way for students to experience adult-life and is truly beneficial to all interns. Brown stressed that “[he] would love to see one day at MHS for every senior to do internship, [it is] that important. [It is] good for you to learn to find out what you like to do, what you [do not] like to do.” Senior Prayush Pokharel’s view concurs with Mr. Brown, having the experience states “it helps you figure out what you want to do and helps solidify who you want to be”.
