Although her hurt knees kept her from joining the swim team, Jacklyn Narducci still finds ways of achieving academic success through in-school activities and off-campus work.

Narducci, senior, is the class representative for the Academy of American Studies and a leader in Freshman Mentors. She works at Norterra Family Madison during the weekend for an internship project assigned to her by the academy.

The academy is an in-school program where student members take advanced classes together like Biology Honors, Language Arts 3-4 Honors and AP World History depending on their grade level.

Senior academy students, like Narducci, are required to participate in an internship project. They are allowed to choose wherever they want to intern as long as they can collect ninety hours of work, record their progress in a portfolio and present it at a banquet where employers and staff members will be attending.

The most difficult part of the project for Narducci was deciding where to intern and then actually getting the job. It requires interviews, connections and competition.

“One of my mom’s friends owns the place and I had to go talk to her and interview for it and then they had me working at the front desk first to get a feel for it,” Narducci said. “There were five other people trying to do an internship there so we had to be interviewed.”

Narducci is expected to assist her pediatrician co-worker in filling out packets of paperwork and jotting down height and weight measurements. She works directly with the families if need be and will provide information and resources to her clients to assist them in any issues they might be having.

“It has taught me a lot about the backstage of the medical field that you don’t really think about. There’s so much paperwork, filing, and faxing stuff every time you get a subscription there,” Narducci said when asked about the gained experience of interning.

Internship work is a reserved practice for the weekends and days off, but when school is in session, Narducci is primarily focused on her classes and the Mentor program.

“The best part is being able to provide help for people,” Narducci said.