Photos and story by Sandra Michaud
Students at Aldo Leopold Charter School invited the public to see what they have learned from their community internships this semester. They participated in 14 individual internships and in the Youth Conservation Corps, which was divided into five crews: Archaeology, Garden, Eco Monitoring, Murals and Trails. The crews each gave a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation, and the participants in the individual internships each presented a poster-board summary of what they had learned.
Cheryl Head, counselor at the school, said that the internships give the students an opportunity to explore the world of work and refine their career selections. “They can learn about what an actual job entails as opposed to what they think it is.”
“It also helps them develop what we call soft skills, such as punctuality and professionalism,” she said.
Head said that all the students participate in the internship program, beginning in their sophomore year. The freshmen participate in a community orientation program as an introduction to the internship program.
ALCS Internship Showcase
ALCS Internship Showcase
The Archaeology YCC crew: Zach Donnelly, Izaich Padilla, Emeliano Rodriguez, Serina Floyd, William Scott, Samuel Medina, and Danielle Wacondo
ALCS Internship Showcase
Another YCC crew, Eco Monitoring: Darynn Smith, Zeb Trujillo, Evan King, Emily Cox, Hawk Fugagli, Aiden Young, and Izabella Chase
ALCS Internship Showcase
Dena Hillyer interned at Bear Creek Herbs, making salves and tinctures and working with customers
ALCS Internship Showcase
Dena's interest in medicine prompted her to intern at Bear Creek Herbs. Her mentor was Naava Koenigsberg
ALCS Internship Showcase
The YCC Garden Crew: Danny Mahl, Sarah Lynn, Morgan Bighley, Titus Metcalfe, Samuel Scott, Marisa Holguin, and Carlos Arias
ALCS Internship Showcase
Anna Cantrell interned at the Wheel House, which specializes in yoga and catering
ALCS Internship Showcase
Anna's internship was also incorporated into another school project involving writing short stories. She also learned about running a small business
ALCS Internship Showcase
Kai Hite interned at Independent Ink, a tattoo business. She answered phones, helped customers, and did some designs
ALCS Internship Showcase
Kai's mentor was James Lamoreaux
ALCS Internship Showcase
Maiah Sager interned at Syzygy Tile, in many different departments. She learned about the many ways to work clay
ALCS Internship Showcase
Maiah got a summer job with Syzygy and is thinking about clay work as a possible career path
ALCS Internship Showcase
Jessi Hobby interned at La Clinica. She said one of the things she learned was how midwife Shauna McCosh relates to her patient
ALCS Internship Showcase
Jessi wants to be a surgeon, and said her internship has cemented her desire to work in medicine
ALCS Internship Showcase
Arianna Lansdreth interned at Binary Circuits. She enjoys working with computers and did quite a bit of repair work
ALCS Internship Showcase
Sterling Wecks interned at Power and Light Press. She hopes to work in graphic design.
ALCS Internship Showcase
Sterling said her internship helped her get a feel for the technology, both manual and comptuerized
ALCS Internship Showcase
After the Internship Showcase ended, the students joined the guests in the lobby for a light buffet