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‘We really are changing lives’: Internship program helps students make post-high school plans

Nancy Coleman of Alignment Collaborative for Education says 60 hours can change the trajectory of a high schooler’s life.

Last year, the nonprofit arranged for nearly 150 high school students from three districts to spend those 60 hours in paid internships to help them better understand what they want to do after graduation.

“The only way for students to be career-ready is to give them exposure to careers, and in 60 hours it’s amazing what the students see and do,” Coleman said. “We are moving kids away from just academics and immersing them in the business community.

“We really are changing lives.”

  Yandel Garcia, a senior at Larkin High School In Elgin, talks about his summer internship during Alignment Collaborative for Education’s recognition breakfast at Elgin Community College on Wednesday. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com

Those experiences were celebrated this week in Elgin during a recognition breakfast for the businesses and organizations that provided internships in manufacturing, banking, engineering, health care, and other fields.

Nick Piekarski of Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick said the civil engineering firm is “always trying to build the next generation of engineers.”

“There is a shortage of engineers,” he said. “Enrollment is down in engineering schools. So we really want to show the appeal to students. We try to give them as much hands-on experience as possible.”

ACE works with leaders and businesses from 11 communities — in partnership with Elgin Area School District U-46, Community Unit District 300 and Central Unit District 301 — to deliver a qualified future workforce.

The plan is to add St. Charles Unit District 303 this year.

Cassius Fukala, an intern from Larkin High School in Elgin, studied drone technology with Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc. last summer. Courtesy of Alignment Collaborative for Education

The internship program is generally for juniors but occasionally accepts sophomores or seniors. The internships are paid, some entirely by the company and some are subsidized by ACE through money they receive from grants and donors. Students also get academic credit for the internships.

They’re expecting to have 200 student interns this year.

Shari Nelson of Hoffer Plastics said they designed their internships so students could experience numerous departments. She said some students started with one career track in mind before changing lanes after learning about new fields.

“It was a great way for the interns to really establish their career path moving forward after they graduate from high school,” she said.

Michelle Parker of Hampshire High School said she was “dead set on being an engineer” when she got to Hoffer.

“After going through the rotations, I realized that’s not what I want to do,” she said. “I really wanted to be involved in creating things like these giant molds I saw there. It was something that was really amazing to me, and I wanted to be directly involved in creating those. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have known what I really wanted to do.”

  Allie Boykin, a senior at Central High School in Burlington, talks about her internship at Advocate Sherman Hospital last summer. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com

New this year was a first responder program with 10 students working with the Bartlett Police Department, Hanover Park Fire Department and Hanover Township Emergency Services.

Bartlett Police Chief Geoffrey Pretkelis said the department was eager to participate since part of its strategic plan is trying to get people interested in a career in law enforcement.

“They got to see a different side of us — the human side — that a lot of people don’t see,” he said.

Coleman said they offer as much variety as possible because they can’t afford to let seniors graduate without a plan.

“They can change their plan,” she said. “They can learn new things. But they have to have a plan by the time they graduate in May.”

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