Mrs. Sullivan Expands the Senior Internship Program

By: Samantha S. '16
This year, with the help of new internship coordinator, Mrs. Sullivan, Beth Tfiloh instituted a new internship program for our High School seniors. As part of the process, students not only researched different opportunities but also learned how to best present themselves when negotiating an internship.

To begin the process, Mrs. Sullivan had students complete an interest log and online aptitude test to pinpoint the fields which they would find most engaging. Keeping these responses in mind, she then met with each student, reviewed how to write cover letters and resumes, and went through the internship career book to handpick an internship that fit that student’s interests.

Mrs. Sullivan has also added several new opportunities to the already lengthy list of internships available to Beth Tfiloh students. Some examples include internships at Maryland Public Television, Maryland Science Center, Baltimore Zionist District, the Center for Jewish Education, and the Space Telescopic Science Institute. Every day, Mrs. Sullivan continues to search for new opportunities to enhance the Beth Tfiloh internship experience.

According to Mrs. Sullivan, once internships begin in March, students will work for 30 hours a week and touch base with Mrs. Sullivan via an online forum. As part of the course, they will be required to write journals and time sheets, and will eventually be evaluated by their mentors. Mrs. Sullivan will also conduct site visits to ensure that our students are actively engaged in the day to day operations in their field of interest.

Mrs. Sullivan works with students full time from Monday through Thursday. She says that “consistently seeing, getting to know the seniors and developing relationships with them has been extremely helpful in the internship process.” Once the seniors leave, Mrs. Sullivan plans to begin working with eleventh graders to start preparing them for their senior internships. She states that “starting the process in April gives us more time to do some more job exploration and career choice activities with the juniors.” Mrs. Sullivan will also be inviting the junior class to the senior internship fair in April, when seniors will give presentations about their internship experiences, to give the juniors a chance to survey possible career opportunities.

Students have been extremely happy and satisfied with the new internship system. Rafi L. ‘15 said that the internship process has been “smooth and supportive.” He added that while “it was a little scary thinking about what our futures might look like,” working together with Mrs. Sullivan helped him find the right internship match.

Additionally, Shani G. ‘15 said she is “really excited for the opportunity to learn more about something [she is] really passionate about and see whether it could lead to possible job opportunities in the future.” Throughout the process, she said that Mrs. Sullivan has been extremely friendly and helpful. Smiling, Shani added that at this point, she is eagerly awaiting for the internship portion of the program to actually begin.

Mrs. Sullivan has done a great job at successfully integrating her new senior internship model into Beth Tfiloh. Most seniors are filled with anticipation to begin their internships this March. Stay tuned for updates from the field coming this spring!

> View Mrs. Sullivan's internship interview tips