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PELHAM, N.Y. While most of their classmates will be looking forward to a relaxing summer and the beginning of college, 12 Pelham Memorial seniors will be handling an independent project or internship this spring.
The students will be a part of Senior Operations, WISE (Wise Individualized Senior Experiences), a pilot program geared to help seniors connect what they are learning in school to the real world, pursue a passion or explore possible interests and develop new skills beyond the classroom setting, according to a press release from the school district.
The internships range from the financial and animal worlds to politics, cuisine and writing.
One student, Jiani Xu, is looking for an internship at a bank in order to build skills for a career in investment and to learn more about banking, according to the press release. During Peggy Hoares internship with the Greenburg Nature Center, she will be working with animals and teaching visitors about wildlife, the press release said.
Roberta Barnett is in the process of organizing a regional conference in April for a student anti-genocide coalition called STAND, and she will be writing a blog about her experiences, according to the press release.
P.J. Scheppiss blog will focus on food because he is attending the Culinary Institute next year. Max Romanello will invest his time in writing as he creates a Japanese-style graphic novel, the press release said.
William Doyle, a Pelham Memorial teacher and coordinator, is looking forward to the program.
The primary resource for this program is the experiences of the students, Doyle said in the press release. These experiences will be their bridge to the real world. During his senior year, Doyle interned at the Domestic Violence Child Abuse Bureau and said that it was a wonderful experience to work in a professional setting.
I am really interested in graphic design and would like to pursue this in college and as a career, said senior Ann Dwyer in the press release. I am hoping for an internship to experience a unique way of study.
The program, which has also taken place in Bronxville, White Plains, Eastchester and Scarsdale, connects these students with mentors both within the high school and outside academia, according to the press release.
The students must maintain journals, have a mentor and they must make a final presentation at the end of the year, the press release said.
The participating students in the program are:
Roberta Barnett Katty Conforti Kyra DeTone Ann Dwyer Peggy Hoare Anya LaRoche Sebastian Martinez Josh Morgan Max Romanello PJ Schepis Jiani Xu Omar Gouda
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