Internships

After the learner submits their list of sites, the internship coordinator will approve all or some of these choices. The internship coordinator has the discretion to approve or not approve sites; to avoid multiple students from contacting the same site, the internship coordinator may not approve every learner’s first choice.

Once the learner’s choice is approved, they will schedule a shadow day to get a feel for a typical day. Multiple shadow days are encouraged. After shadow days, learners will coordinate an interview between the internship coordinator, site mentor/contact, and learner.

A contract is agreed upon between the student and a mentor to determine what the student will be doing. The contract is developed (not immediately) by allowing the mentor to list some items a student could do, and the student develops a list of items they would like to do. The agreed-upon internship must have the following:

• The project must be associated with the student’s interests to develop new skills.
• The project needs to be real and beneficial to the company.
• The student must have access to the resources and experiences necessary to complete the project.
• The project must be relevant and challenging and provide enough time to complete.
• The project must culminate with a presentation in which the learner makes recommendations to the site.

During the internship trimester, students will participate in a daily internship seminar with the Bennett Day School internship coordinator. This seminar will focus on processing the day-to-day challenges of each student’s internship and the relevant skills necessary in the world of work outside Bennett Day. This seminar will meet at least three mornings per week. Every student will participate in at least one Stand Up per week during this seminar.

Stand Ups

Students will participate in weekly “stand-ups,” in which they stand in front of the class and make three statements:

• What did I do last week that helped the team/business/nonprofit meet the goal? What did I do to meet my goal?
• What will I do this week to help the team meet the goal? What will I do to meet my goal?
• Do I see any impediment that prevents me or the team from meeting the goal?

Students are expected to attend both their internship and seminar every day. Students, during the internship trimester, will also spend time preparing their impact presentations. Every three weeks, students will write a short (2-3 page) reflection on their work and their plan for their impact presentations.

Impact presentations take two forms:

1. The in-person report to the business.
2. The written research paper.

By the conclusion of the internship, students will prepare a report, complete with citations, on the business/non-profit for whom they have been working. The impact presentations should first identify how the student’s thinking has been changed through participation in the internship. The second part of the impact presentation involves an analysis of some challenges facing the business that the student has researched. The student should give a history of the challenge, explain any relevant research that might contribute to a possible solution, and propose a solution to the problem that the student feels might address the challenge faced by the business. This will be presented to a panel who will assess the report and either (a) accept it as satisfactory for completion of the internship, or (b) ask for revisions before credit is given.