From May 15 to 30, WHS seniors in good academic standing are required to participate in an internship with the purpose of discovering their strengths, weaknesses, work values, and interests while they explore possible future careers. 

   During their internships, seniors spend a minimum of five hours a day and 25 hours a week working in settings related to  numerous categories like business, healthcare, education, engineering, and countless others. 

   Senior Shrihan Yadav will be working at Tatte in Wellesley Center with the intent of making some more money for college and exposing himself to the hospitality industry.

   “I am glad to be working at Tatte and meeting new people,” Yadav said. “However, I am nervous about rude customers and how I am going to handle them.”

   Although he is working at a restaurant, Yadav wants to go to college for engineering.

   “While I do not plan to major in hospitality, I think this job will serve as a good learning experience for me,” Yadav said. 

   While several seniors do not yet know what they are going to do for their internships, many of them have a good idea of what field they want to work in.

   Senior Aileen Trinh knows that she wants to work in healthcare but is not entirely sure of the specifics.

   “I know that in college I want to pursue a career in mental health as a clinical psychologist or as a family therapist,” Trinh said. “I hope to double major in psychology and biology.” 

  As a healthcare observer and helper Trinh would help with medical supplies, writing things down, note taking, as well as engaging with patients and staff.

   “I hope to gain not only experience for my future career but also to see if I really want to pursue a career in this field,” Trihn said. “However, I am usually an introverted person, so I am nervous about the first few days of interning there. Being in a new environment is daunting as well as being around people I am not familiar with, especially those who are much older than me.”

    Several other students are also very interested in pursuing a career in the medical field including senior Andy Duan.

   “I want to work in a hospital because I do want to become a doctor. My plan was to be an intern at a hospital nearby but most of them are over the summer and you have to apply,” Duan said. “And because I don’t really know anyone I could intern for I am kind of stuck on what to do.”

   Many seniors at WHS are very focused on choosing internships that are centered around helping people including senior Neel Sharma. His plan for his internship is to volunteer at call2talk, a suicide helpline

   “I chose this internship because I wanted something that I was already passionate about and already doing,” Sharma said. “I chose call2talk initially because I wanted to help people who may be struggling to talk through their pain and know that they are heard.”

  While Sharma is still unsure of what he wants to do in the future, he knows that he wants to work in a field related to mental health and is still debating whether or not to major in it in college.

   “I’m looking forward to learning a lot about people who struggle with mental health illnesses and I’m excited to listen and help them out,” Sharma said.

   If students do not know what they want to do for their internships yet, there are several resources available to help. For example, the google classroom that Kelly Flynn set up with resources to help students find internship positions as well as forms that are needed like worksite information form, mentor guidelines, and site guide evaluation form.