What Does “Career and College Ready” Really Look Like?
The collective nervousness in the room is palpable. Collared shirts are being tucked in, skirts are smoothed, and cafeteria lunches are left untouched. As my students double-check their resumes, sign introductory cover letters, and check-out MapQuest for directions, a young man walks up and quietly asks with a slight quiver in his voice: “Ms. Kovacic. What if they don’t like me?” I reassure him that he will do just fine, as we practice one last look-them-directly-in-the-eyes-and-give-them-a-firm-handshake routine.
Over the past several weeks, in anticipation of this day, my class of high school seniors and I have been reading the book Internship for Success. We reviewed the importance of first impressions, discussed and role-played various scenarios that could happen in a work environment, and reviewed professional etiquette and behavior. However, in reality, my students have been preparing for this experience much longer than just these in-class sessions. As they begin a 12-week internship, it is now time for each of them to apply the content and skills learned in school to the real world. It will be a good gauge for how career and college ready they actually are.
The internships are as diverse as the students. One student will be working with a UCSD professor and his post-doctorate student studying cognitive flexibility and its development in childhood. Another is in a lab charting the behavior of rats and analyzing their neural systems. Two students are assigned to work with physical therapists in the university’s athletic department, learning how to treat sports injuries. Others will be working on
