Several Internship Options for Students at LSN

Story and Photo by Talon Cleveland – Staff Reporter

 This senior business internship program has been used for many decades throughout many different schools. The SBE program is in all three of our high schools in Lee’s Summit. Here at LSN Joy Reed, Wylie Brown, and Christy Buckner are the sponsors.

   “I have been a work program coordinator for 11 years. I approve or deny students who have applied for the program.  Sometimes, if needed, I will help find jobs for students, if they cannot find their own.  I keep in touch with their employers, monitor their work during site visits, collect pay stubs and evaluations. I also help students work through issues that may arise with their place of employment and determine the best way to handle situations in a professional manner. I started as the CCE coordinator, my 3rd year of teaching.  Since then, I have been the Marketing Work Coordinator,” Brown said. 

    Being in this program isn’t just applying. There is constant work to be done and high expectations of these students. Students who are in this program need to keep a positive GPA and be doing good in school.

    “I have been coordinating the Cooperative Career Education (CCE) program for over 10 years,” Reed said. “I coordinate the CCE program. Everyone who participates in CCE is in my first hour. In class, we go over how to be a better employee. We cover units such as Health and Safety, Taxes, Leadership, Communication & Teamwork, Orientation to a New Job, and Ethics to name a few. I also oversee the students at work. Release time is built into my schedule so I can go out and observe my students while they work. This also gives me time to complete the paperwork required for the program. We have employers do evaluations on our students and they also have to turn in their pay stubs so we can verify how many hours they work. The hours worked to determine how many credits a student earns for working,” Reed said.

   This internship is a way for senior students to see what working out in the real world would be like and they get credits to go towards their graduations.

  “This is my first year as SBE Coordinator. As the SBE Coordinator, I help coordinate the program by working with student interns as well as employers to provide ongoing support, keep track of SBE documentation,” Buckner said.

   The program helps students achieve credit in school while out earning a paycheck. They gain real-world work experience while still in high school. Students also learn communication skills and how to handle tough or uncomfortable situations at work. Experience and networking are also valuable assets that our students gain. Many students will stay in contact with their employer and continue to work for them after graduation.

   “By using this program students can experience what working would be like if they chose to stay on this path during their life. I’ve been in the work program for about 5 months now. You can apply as a Junior but you don’t start doing work until you’re a senior,” Katie Spacil, senior, said. 

   You can apply for his internship when you are a junior or a senior. But you don’t start getting your credit time until senior year.

   “Being in this program allows me to work in the school store which gives me hands-on experience in this work style. In terms of marketing I’ve gotten so much experience and everything I learned in class helps me in real work and apply those things into my life,” Spacil said.