Internships for High School Students? You Bet!

Pictured above, Carmen High School South student Lizbeth Valdez-Mayorca presenting about her internship experience at Baird.

When you think “internship,” you probably think “college.” But at Carmen Schools of Science and Technology, we’re bringing internships to high school.

Our Student Internship Program is a competitive program open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors from all three Carmen high schools. Participating students are excused from class one day per week to intern in fields like IT, healthcare, law, higher education, and nonprofit community services. They earn a scholarship of $1,000 per semester or $2,000 per year toward college costs!

Having grown up on the south side of Milwaukee, I see so much of myself in these students. They are so exploratory and curious. For them, this program is the whole package. Students receive first-hand experience working in fields that interest them. Additionally, they gain social capital, building a professional network at an early age.

We had almost 100 students apply for the 2023-24 Student Internship Program, and 35 of them were placed in internships this school year. The application process is a career-prep experience in itself: students write a statement of interest, fill out a resume, and get letters of reference. They attend professional development training before interviewing with our internship partners. We then place students in internships based on their skills and interests as well as feedback from the interviews.

On May 14th, we held our annual end-of-year celebration for the Student Internship Program. Hosted at the Milwaukee School of Engineering STEM Center, this event was a chance for our 2023-24 student interns to share what they learned via posters and PowerPoint presentations. Here are just a few examples:

• Lizbeth Valdez-Mayorca, a junior at Carmen High School South, interned this year in Baird’s Human Resources department. During her internship, she got the chance to deliver a research presentation on the systemic challenges holding back Hispanic communities, a topic she’s passionate about as a Mexican American student. “I thought it was important to bring up the challenges facing Hispanics so that we can make people aware and create needed change,” she says.
• Evalicia Reyes is a senior at Carmen High School Southeast. She interned at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers this year. Her biggest accomplishment was making a video showing patients how to use the MyChart online portal. “Before going into this internship I was set on being a pediatric nurse,” she says. “But while I was interning I was able to see and work a lot with women’s health and mental health.” This experience has crystallized her plans to become a nurse practitioner.
• Sheldon Clarke is a senior at Carmen High School Northwest. During his internship at Northwestern Mutual, he could use skills he learned taking IT classes at Milwaukee Area Technical College. “I learned how powerful a question can be,” he says. “Asking questions can open up new opportunities for you. One question can result in a new relationship. One question can help grow your knowledge.” His internship experience has solidified his desire to pursue a career in STEM, and he hopes to work at Northwestern Mutual again in the future.

These students are now more prepared to get the most out of college, and to take advantage of career-prep opportunities. Some of our former interns have even stayed in touch with their internship partners and come back for college internships or post-graduation jobs. Now they’re creating opportunities for the next generation!