High School Internships

Internships or authentic learning career experiences are an outstanding way for students to gain a more in-depth understanding of a potential career. As students begin to prepare and plan for their future, an internship can serve as a vital tool in the decision-making process to help them choose or solidify their next course of study after high school. Internship participants graduate with academic knowledge, field experience and interpersonal skills which may accelerate their progress in their chosen career and/or acceptance into a college degree or professional program and provide a competitive advantage in their future career.
 
Why Are Internships Beneficial?

• 18 of the 20 fastest growing occupations within the next decade will require career and technical education. (U.S. Department of Labor)
• Career and technical education graduates are 10% more likely to be in the labor force and earn 8-9% more than those without CTE training. (Rosenbaum, J.E. Beyond College for All. New York. Russell.)
• High school graduates with career learning experience attain higher grade point averages in their freshman year of college than students with no career experience in high school. (Lewis, 2004)

Click here for the flyer, "Let's Talk R.O.I.," which outlines the return on investment a business can experience through sharing in the authentic learning of an internship.

Barrett's Home Theater Hires High School Intern

Dianne Barrett, of Barrett's Home Theater, relates her business's experience working with an intern:

When Barrett’s Home Theater was first approached by District 203 staff about having a student from Naperville Central High School work for us as an intern, I spoke with the staff about what would be expected of us as a business in providing student opportunities in our Naperville electronics store. The sales staff discussed what would benefit the student in his application of business studies to his duties in the store and what would make it a fun experience for him while he became one of our team players.

According to Kevin McCarthy, assistant manager of Barrett’s Home Theater and mentor to Joe, “I think we gave him practical experience about what running a service/retail business was like and what it involves - which includes real life experience that a student would not get from reading a lesson plan out of a book.”

While some students in high school never have held a job of any kind, Joe seemed to know what was expected in his responsibilities as a paid employee. Mr. McCarthy goes on to say, “Joe was always very punctual, well groomed and eager to learn and always had a positive attitude. He was a great help to the staff answering phones and helped to keep the store looking good while taking pride in his work.”

What was most impressive about providing a student opportunity in a work study program was the openness and willingness of staff to help teach a young person who is genuinely anxious to learn, while also observing the intern grow and improve not only with his social skills but in his ability to absorb so many facets of the operation in such a short period of time. It was well worth the investment we made in both time and money to help this young man grow.

The experience of this student and his place on their team takes on even more significance when one understands how important customer service is to Barrett’s. In July of 2009, Barrett’s Home Theater was named the grand-prize winner of CustomRetailer’s year-long Customer Satisfaction Award contest, receiving a $500 American Express gift card and commemorative plaque which is proudly displayed at Barrett’s.

Internship Contacts in District 203

For further information on how to hire a Naperville Central student as an intern, please contact Career & Technical Education Instructional Coordinator Christine Bell at 630-420-6591 or clbell@naperville203.org.

For further information on how to hire a Naperville North student as an intern, please contact Career & Technical Education Instructional Coordinator Jay Wachtel at 630-420-6487 or jwachtel@naperville203.org.