NHS seniors can do 'externships' at area businesses

Last spring, the Newton High School graduating class of 2015 was able to take an afternoon to do mock interviews with area employers at the Goodwill Career Connection Center.

Beginning soon, NHS seniors will have the option of working at one of those businesses in a unique type of internship arrangement called the Cardinal Career Connection.

At a Newton Community School District board meeting in December, Newton High School Principal Bill Peters proposed course changes and updates for the school's 2016-17 academic handbook. One of those changes was to add an option to do "externships," or on-site training, at businesses in the Jasper County area.

Miranda Kulis, the career center's coordinator, said she and Peters and his staff are still "ironing out the kinks" in the program, but the main idea is that the students will have the chance to work alongside someone in their desired career field.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to expand our partnership with Newton High School and the internship program," Kulis said. "We have a multitude of business partners interested in all areas of experience and they have expressed their excitement at having the students in their businesses as well."

While the program will be limited to the greater Newton area to avoid transportation issues, the program will offer seniors a half-day at a business, along with a half-day of regular classes at NHS. There will also be a shortened, accelerated version in which students are on-site for full-day sessions during breaks in the school year.

Peters said the course, called "Business Education (Cardinal Career Connections – Shadow Break & Internship)," is actually more of what he calls a "strand" than a full-fledged course. The program will officially be one the 2016-17 course offerings, but Peters said it's possible NHS and the career center might be able to set up a few seniors for internships this spring.

"The Cardinal Career Connection is an internship opportunity for seniors," Peters said. "Students will provide the preference for an internship. Then, we work with Miranda from Goodwill to secure an business partner who is willing to provide the internship. Thus far, the businesspeople in town have expressed a great willingness to provide these opportunities."

Kulis said the program will allow seniors not only to see firsthand how to conduct themselves in a business environment, but also to help determine if that career field is right for them.

Even though the arrangements will be set up through the school and the career center, when the seniors are on-site, they answer to their supervisors in the business community.

"The student will be expected to demonstrate professionalism in accordance with the business’s best practices and will be expected to work with their mentor on a project or on daily tasks to better understand the profession they are interested in," Kulis said. "The business mentor will then give the school and the student feedback on their performance."

Kulis said the internships will allow NHS seniors to further determine if the industry or trade they're investigating is the best-suited one for them.

"This will allow students the opportunity to better understand the career field they are thinking of going  into," she said.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com