In a world where classroom knowledge must transfer to real-world application, the role of internships for high school students has grown to become very important. The experiences students gain from internships are not just add-ons to their education but invaluable opportunities that foster personal growth, career exploration and a deepened connection between classroom theory and practical reality.
However, only a small number of students take internships each year. According to a study by the American Student Assistance, only 2% of high school students have completed an internship. This number seems surprisingly low considering the professional experience one can gain.
Interning can be a great way for students to gain knowledge of a specific field, build soft skills and network. Seniors Timmy Ku and Nathan Musal are two examples of students at Pleasant Valley who interned over the summer. Their internships were significantly more beneficial for them than taking a normal summer job.
Ku spent every other day of his summer break working on financial reports and marketing for his internship at a financial services company called Ameriprise Financial. “The main thing you get from high school internships or internships in college is professional experience prior to entering the workforce. In school or college when you’re just learning or studying for a test, you don’t get to learn about the real interactions that occur in a work-environment,” said Ku. “Internships give you real work in your field of study. What I mean by that is when taking a summer job, you typically aren’t doing what you want to do after high school. With internships, you can work in the field you want your career to be in.”
Musal spent nearly every day of his summer interning at a company called Bettendorf Financial Group, working on financial reports and sitting in on client and investment meetings. Like Ku, Musal’s internship was much more impactful than taking a summer job. “I want to go into finance. A lot of people just work a random summer job. I could work at Hy-Vee, but I’m not learning anything about the field that I want to go into,” said Musal.
While part-time jobs may offer students a chance to earn money and gain some basic work experience, high school internships are designed with a more comprehensive and educational focus in mind. They provide students with an opportunity to explore potential career paths, acquire industry-specific skills and build a professional network that can prove invaluable in the future.
“The internship’s relevance to my future is really what sets it apart for me. On top of this, it has reaffirmed that finance is what I want to do in the future,” stated Musal.
Internships are structured experiences where learning is emphasized, and mentors often play a pivotal role in guiding students toward a deeper understanding of their chosen field. These high school internships do more for students by offering a mix of education and professional development that can shape a student’s future in profound ways.
After highschool, both Ku and Musal plan to continue their aspirations for business by studying finance in college, hoping to enter into investment banking. Their internships have built them a foundation of knowledge and helped them begin networking for their careers, which will give them an edge as they enter college and later the workforce.
These internships give high school students a taste of the work world and allow students to experience different fields of work before fully committing to one.
