Senior year, students who are a part of the Academy of American studies program have the opportunity to gain experience in the workfield before they step into the real world. Students will intern with a company or organization whose purpose they feel passionate about or have an interest in pursuing

The 34 seniors who are participating in this assignment are required to perform 90 hours of an internship, whether that is working with a teacher, hospital, or hotel company. At the end of the year, they present their experience at a senior banquet. They will be evaluated quarterly by their supervisors and be graded on the quality of their work.

Darrell Hudson, history teacher and director of Academy of American Studies, states what the internship is supposed to do for students.

“It gets them into the community, and they have to find something that is a passion for them or something that they enjoy that they can use the skills they are learning throughout the school; their oral communications, writing communications, [and] learning how to problem solve,” Hudson said.

Ethan Scheider, senior, has an internship at CCV and is working with some of their pastors. Scheider feels that students have the chance to get experience in the real world and see what a career is like.

“It’s really good training for seeing what it’s actually like in a place where you could potentially have a career. I think it’s really good for that reason, too. And it looks great on resumes and people see you have experience like that outside of school,” Scheider said.

This assignment also looks good on resumes and to colleges when they see students have experience beyond the limits of the classroom.

“It does help in the sense that when colleges are now looking at more than just grades, they’re looking at how your involvement is with the community and what you can do to help the community. This is showing them that ‘I’m dedicated to putting in time to do something to solve an issue that we have in our community here’,” Hudson said.

Chance Vandyke, senior, has an internship with Wyndham hotels. He will travel around the southwest with them and spot out new locations for building. He is looking at this as an opportunity to see how businesses really work.

“[It’s] opening my eyes to the possibilities to the different industries that are out there in the world, [and] that you’re not really limited to one thing. And then also a very literal understanding of how it all works,” Vandyke said.

The Academy of American Studies internship program provides students with a chance to see what it is like to work in a businesslike setting.

“I feel like it’s good to be in a professional environment like that for high school students to do that too because it is definitely a view into the workplace,” said Scheider.