Grade 10 Week in the Workplace
What is Week in the Workplace?
Week in the Workplace is a week-long internship program designed by a team of 5 at ISA. Near the end of 10th grade all students worked at a company that relates to their personal interests. This program was made for students going into 11th grade to be ready for life after high school. Seven students were interviewed at their place of employment to give their insight on this program, the first question being;
What is your role in this internship?
Duru Savas and Lara Daly – “We work with an independent artist so it’s really just about learning and observing, we do some practical work but it’s also a lot of back and forth with questions”
The 10th Grade class consists of 114 students. Of all those students, 53 different companies were able to host our tenth graders and 14+ career paths that relate to all these different internships. Every student has a unique role and stories to tell leaving their Week.
How does the company relate to your interest?
Emilia Keppelmueller – “I work with TomTom which is a navigation company. I put down that I really enjoy design, I didn’t understand how TomTom could match my interest. Then I learned I would be working with a graphic designer, and I was quite excited.”
Students who did not yet have a place of employment in April/May were given a form to fill out regarding their interests. Vikki Kuelers and Susan Costello-Tennyson then worked together to find each student a suitable place to intern. A number of students were going to be disappointed with their result. Nonetheless, the students whom this happened to left the workplace more open-minded as they found their interest in something they never imagined could.
What is challenging about this role?
Derek Im – “ I am not really an expert in this area considering its software so I can’t really lead in anything which I would consider a challenge”
In every work environment there are challenges, either “big” or “small”. Junseo Kim, another student intern, explained that his challenge was more related to the hands-on activities he is doing, contrasting Derek’s response. These challenges are also vastly different from what we commonly encounter at school. Learning to overcome these challenges can be another challenge in itself, but still a necessary one.
How do you think this experience will benefit you in the future?
Mayuko Mine – “We learn about how the company works with environmental and social issues. I think this really helped me understand how we are contributing to Global Warming so in the future I can change some of my habits.”
Most students we interviewed described how the week would help them for University, or Future careers. Week in the Workplace is not primarily for these reasons; it’s also to teach students things one can only truly comprehend outside of a classroom. Even with only Four Days, an experience such as Week in the Workplace is beneficial in many different ways.
This year’s 10th graders were the first to ever experience Week in the Workplace. We can not wait to see this program grow in the years to follow. Thank you Julia True, Cherly Balm, Susan Costello-Tennysonto, Vikki Keulers, and Scott Schaffner who all participated to make this learning experience possible.
Written by Anouk Sijbring and Daniela Azar
