Being Independent – As a High School Intern

By Alex Paul

Not many teenagers are granted the opportunity to participate in an internship during high school. Luckily, my high school offers a program for seniors called the “Social Lab”. After completing your core classes, you can replace your electives with an internship either in the morning or afternoon. Weekly reflections are required as you receive a grade each marking period from your mentor based on your performance and hardwork.

Given an amazing chance to explore my career interest as well as gain experience, I took advantage of this perfect opportunity. When I first joined Germer International at the end of August, it was a difficult adjustment as I had been used to my schedule of classes from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. I had been used to going from school to babysitting, but now I had to adjust to traveling from school to Germer International to babysitting. With my new schedule, I leave school after my classes around 11:00 am, grab a quick lunch, and head to my internship. Having extra responsibilities was something that came along with this new routine. I had to prioritize my time wisely.

While working in the office, there are many deadlines to meet as well as meetings with staff. The single most important thing I have learned throughout this experience is that planning a daily routine is vital to being organized and prepared. Taking notes either in a notebook or on my phone has helped me create a schedule for myself. In school, being a smart note taker is a powerful skill that can improve your comprehension of information, active listening, and help you better understand the content in class. Note taking has the same effects in the work world. It is easy to forget to do something because of all the different tasks you have to complete. Specifically, at meetings and interviews, it is difficult to remember everything talked about which is why bringing a notebook can come in handy.

As I plan out my days, I consider many aspects including school, my internship, my job, homework, college applications, working out, and my social life. Instead of going to the gym right after school as I had previously done, I had to weave it into my new schedule and fit it in after babysitting. Instead of wasting my time by sitting on my phone for hours, I was able to be more productive and save relaxation for the end of the day when everything was completed. I have become more independent by creating a set-schedule for myself.