Internships at Summit Prep prepare students for the real world

By Garrett Kelly and Carter Reid

Staff Writers

Internships at Summit Preparatory Charter High School are what help separate Summit Prep from the average high school. Internships at Summit Prep offer a wide variety of different topics, and students are given the opportunity to guide themselves on a course they most likely created themselves.

In order to fully understand what an intern goes through on a day-to-day basis, we followed the Juvenile Justice Commissioner’s intern around for a week. We shadowed Rob Wilds, a senior who has been interning for the past two years.

Wilds’ responsibilities are helping the commissioner with whatever she needs. This often consists of analyzing juvenile justice data and creating slideshow presentations for inequality conferences.

During the third Expeditions round this year, Wilds attended and presented in a social justice conference held at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The conference was primarily focused on the inequalities and racial minorities experience.

“It was a great experience, and I learned a lot about the experiences others have had and the privileges that I possess,” Wilds said.

Wilds clearly enjoys being involved with the commissioner and feels he’s helping his community. “I have loved this opportunity to be an intern during school hours as it has given me the flexibility and freedom to explore my interests and get real-world experience.”

Expeditions Dean of Instruction and School Culture Kalyn Olson explained: “Internship opportunities are a chance for a student to examine their skills against what will be expected of them in the real world; they will be able to compare themselves to college students and young adults getting jobs in these careers and in professional fields.”

According to Ms. Olson, interning is a “little bit of the student experiencing what it’s like to go into the real world and what it’s like to manage time on a day-to-day basis.”

After shadowing Wilds for two weeks, it is understandable how the process of becoming and working as an intern has a correlation to real-life scenarios. If you’re interested in becoming an intern, it’s a great opportunity to build connections and learn what it takes to be a professional in the outside world. You can learn more at tinyurl.com/theILwebsite.