On Monday, January 8, Nicole Brown – the internship coordinator at Springbrook – hosted a meet and greet in Team Room 2 (E202), where current Springbrook interns had the opportunity to share their experiences in the Internship Program and give advice to juniors who plan on participating in the upcoming year.

An internship is an opportunity given by an organization or company in order to help students gain experience in a given field while assessing their own abilities and interests. Not only do they give students first-hand experiences in careers of their choice, but some even offer paid positions. The Internship Program does have many advantages, but loose hours is not one of them. Regardless of school cancellations or schedule changes, interns are still expected to work their shifts.

The resources and relationships made through internships can not only help build a college resume and help students with networking, but they better prepare students in their field of interest, and can sometimes lead to college scholarships.

Mrs. Brown emphasized that “Colleges are first and foremost looking at academic records and an internship will only benefit as an extracurricular. It’s important to make sure that you don’t find yourself lost in extracurricular activities, and ensure that you have enough time on your hands to keep up your grades”.

To join the Springbrook Internship Program,, you must register for either a single, double, or triple period. This may depend on the classes you have left to complete or how long the internship you are taking requires.You can choose to do your internship either before or after lunch, but you and the coordinator will have to communicate the times with the program you plan to intern at. You must sign in with the sign in/sign out sheet before you leave for the internship and sign out as soon as you return to the school so that your teacher will have record of where you are.

Students must work a minimum of 8 to 12 hours per week, depending on their period, and are required to keep track of their hours on a log that is to be turned in every week with the signature of their supervisor on it.

Due to the seemingly small workload, many are under the impression that they can get an A by simply going to their internship and not submitting the forms. But according to Mrs. Brown, “It’s just as easy not to get an A, as it is to get an A in this class.” Students are encouraged to complete all of their work and submit everything on time, like they would for any other class.

 In order to stay focused on both school and the internship you applied to, there are some guidelines you must follow to stay on the right track. Daniel Heyser, a current intern at Heyser Farms, suggests that, “…It would also be a good idea to have already done basic requirements in school (health, tech, art, etc.) so that only english and math would have to be taken care of during senior year.”

If you are looking to apply for an internship, there are plenty of options on the Springbrook internship website.

“Talking to people who are in the same field as you’re interested in may be a good idea to help have a little background information. For example, if one wants to apply for something in the medical program as a doctor or learning medicine, it would be a good idea to make an appointment with their pediatrician,” suggests Mrs. Brown.

For those interested in signing up for an internship, the required forms are available on the Springbrook home website.