Internship 

Picture taken by Daniella Allenstein on a tour to McDonald’s  

Internship is a class for seniors that you sign up for when you’re a junior in high school. You don’t have to sign up for internship, it’s optional, but it provides you time to go to work and to learn how to build a portfolio, which includes writing out resumes, cover letters, career development plans, and a lot more. 

Internship tends to be a lot of busy work, but it’s definitely beneficial to take. There are a lot of assignments that are quick and easy that will contribute to helping students down the road when trying to get a job in their desired field. After class, students don’t technically have a 7th and 8th period because they get released after 6th hour. Which means they can either head to work or go do something else, but they have to leave campus. They also have to do three job shadows throughout the year, which provide them with an opportunity to see what jobs they may be interested in doing are like. It’s beneficial because students learn how to set themselves up for jobs in the future. They practice mock interviews at some point as well, helping them get ready for the real world after high school. Having a head start on interview materials and their portfolios, will be advantageous to earning the careers they want in the future. 

Senior Sydney Hoppa, who is in internship, said, “I work at Hoof and Paw Vet Clinic and go there three out of five days of the school week. It’s nice because I am very busy with sports in the evening, so the allotted time I get allows me to work. I recommend taking this class senior year, especially if you are a busy person outside of school and are looking for work experience.” 

Partway through last year’s school year, the Menomonie school board put in a new expectation for students with different programs. Internship is one of these programs. The new expectations for students includes – a minimum grade point average, 2.0 or better, being present at school, and having good attendance. The state requires that students attend school 90% of the time or better. Credit attainment, making sure you are passing your classes. Lastly, students are required to meet the standard state assessment, or show growth in the previous assessment. For internship specifically, seniors would have would look at your pre-ACT as a sophomore and your ACT as a junior to show growth.