Photo by: Colegio La Floresta.

This year marks an exciting milestone for our school: the launch of the first internship program for tenth-grade students. An internship is a short-term beginner role that helps students gain skills; including creativity, teamwork, communication skills, time management, among others, in a variety of fields such as architecture, medicine, communication, scholastic, to mention some. La Floresta has included internships as an activity for the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC), a program that emphasizes the development of knowledge, skills and understanding subjects, with the purpose of providing students with real-world experience on the career of their choice by learning with practical, hands-on opportunities in a variety of industries. The internships program lasted a week, from March 31st until April 4th, each student focusing on the career path they selected. This week was dedicated to visiting their internship sites instead of attending school to familiarize themselves with the workplace and their possible roles in the future. A publication by Forbes titled “New LinkedIn Data: Internships Are Really Worth It” indicates that completing an internship provides graduates a considerable advantage while searching for a full-time job, making them almost 25% more probable to secure a position within the first six months after graduating. The impact of an internship goes beyond gaining skills, they also present new opportunities and help shape futures. 

The internships program is directed to tenth graders, and considering the success and impact it had this term, it’s highly probable that the program will be renewed for many years to come. This year’s tenth grade students have gained valuable knowledge during their internships and most of them are more confident on their chosen career path and the journey to get there. Each girl had to look for an institution where she could discover more about her interests in her chosen career by doing a non-profit internship on the selected site. There was a wide range of sites in this opening year, including offices, hotels, classrooms, and even a hospital! This range matches the different career choices including pedagogy, architecture, hotel management, medicine, among others. The new knowledge gained during the internships experience completes the International Baccalaureate (IB) profile as it boosts authentic learning within the students.  

Photo taken by: Camila Monge, At Avante Specialized Hospital. 

Some students have focused on a medical career path, in which they decided to visit the Avante Specialized Hospital to do their internship. “I came across a different vision in medicine and I was able to clarify other points of view that I had no idea of”, stated one of these students, Camila Monge. She describes this experience as “a unique experience” considering that they were not able to help that much since they had no experience at all, yet they were able to explore the administrative area, learned how to suture with fabric and afterwards with a simulation of fake skin, and learned how to tie knots to close an artery. Cami became more aware of what her career path was about and mindful of many challenges she will have to endure, but she believes her interest in medicine has increased after her internship. 

Photo by: Camila Monge. From left to right: Camila Monge, Ariana Salazar, and Ana Camila Pereira. 

This activity is a great opportunity to explore the area of each student’s interest. This is why the upcoming tenth graders (present ninth graders) should start thinking about what career path they are willing to explore through hands-on experiences. It is known that this year, the girls helped each other in their research for internship sites, so ninth graders, who are about to become the new sophomores next school year, can also help each other to find the perfect site to explore the career of their choice.  Seizing this adventurous chance will allow each student to find out if she truly sees herself working in that area in the future or if she would like to explore other career opportunities to be more confident of her decision. 

So, this year’s new internships program has been a success among the tenth-grade students who have discovered more about their chosen career and are willing to pursue it after having a memorable experience with the experts at the internship site. We look forward to seeing next year’s interns shine while exploring their career options and doing what they feel most inclined towards!