It’s a real world work experience, it’s a good way to understand what you do or don’t like career wise, and it looks good on college resumes. These are just some of the many benefits of highschool internships. High School internships are the perfect bridge between highschool and career life. They are the ideal opportunity to get a small taste of what it is like to work in a real career setting. A study by the National Association Of Colleges and Employers found that the job offer rate for interns after they complete an internship is 59 percent.

To many students, the biggest reason they participate in highschool internships is the appeal to college-and rightfully so. Molly Porcher, WESS’s college guidance counselor, explained to me that when students apply to college, they include an activity list on their application. This can include clubs, internships, volunteer work and more. When colleges see internships on resumes it stands out because it shows a real hands on, intensive professional experience. It shows investment in an activity, initiative, and responsibility. Luckily, most college admissions officers don’t have a preference regarding the kind of internship, whether it be for a legislator or at a restaurant. What matters most is that a student enjoys it, has commitment to it and it has a connection to the rest of the activities on a student’s resume. The other important thing about internships and college is that oftentimes, high school internship advisors offer college recommendation letters. Not all colleges do this but sometimes, colleges have a separate section for recommendation letters from people that are not school teachers. Normally, this is where letters from internship advisors would be put.

Internships are important but they are not at all easy to find. Given that they are such good opportunities and many students are interested in them, they are hard to find-especially during the pandemic. Molly gave some advice. She explained to me that talking to people you’re familiar with is a great way to get an internship. Maybe someone you know is willing to offer you an internship. Additionally, research is a great way to find internships. Oftentimes companies that are hosting internships will post about it on websites, social media and more. However, the best place to look is on a spreadsheet that Molly created. This includes summer internships, internships during the school year, internships that pay you, etc. 

Overall, high school internships are really positive experiences for highschoolers and should seriously be considered as an extracurricular.