"To me, it's a win for businesses and a win for students," says Kathy Rosinski, internship coordinator and business department chair at Lake Central High School. Her job: solidifying internships for applicable Lake Central seniors in a wide variety of fields.
This year, the Professional Career Internship at Lake Central has forty-three students interning in NWI. Twenty-eight are in fields such as teaching, law enforcement, fine arts, real estate, veterinary science, pharmacy, accounting and journalism, among others. Fifteen of them are with the Franciscan Alliance.
Rosinski is busy developing internship programs and opportunities for the students she loves. 2011 is her fifth year doing all afternoon programs. "As my student numbers grow, I continue reaching out to the community. Most of my internship opportunities come through networking with businesses and organizations providing the internship opportunities."
The program started in 2000 with the Business Technology Lab, a 7-week spring internship held at the high school. The all-afternoon program is an expansion of that course.
"Whatever a student's dream may be, I come as close to placing them in it as I can. I enjoy placing students and I'm proud to help them achieve their goals," says Rosinski.
Some students work two days a week for five hours at a time, while others work three to four days per week, three hours per day. All students spend six hours per month in class with Rosinski, aside from their regular morning classes. This schedule ensure that the students see as much of the prospective career as possible, while gaining workplace skills that will hlep them be successful.
Further assistance from the Franciscan Alliance is provided by Ina Hodges, Director of Educational Services for Franciscan St. Margaret Health. Hodges, who has been involved in the program for over seven years, helps coordinate the rotations, provide schedules and lead orientations.
"This experience is invaluable for the students. Even if the student decides not to go into that particular field, it's a benefit because they know what not to do," states Hodges.
This internship program benefits staff, too, says Hodges. "Staff often tells me that working with the students reminds them of why they went into their particular profession. The program brings employees back to their youth when they decided to do things that may now seem routine."
Internship opportunities for Lake Central students are far from routine with health care related opportunities like occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing and imaging technologies.
This semester, students are located at Franciscan Physicians Hospital, Munster, Franciscan St. Margaret Health, Dyer and Hammond, and Franciscan St. Anthony Health, Crown Point.
Brittany Warzyniak, a senior at Lake Central, is in a clinical rotation schedule. She is currently working in the cardiac rehab center at Franciscan St. Margaret Health in Hammond. She hopes that her full-year involvement in the program will bring her future career a solid base to grow from.
Brittany Warzyniak, senior at Lake Central, attends Franciscan St. Margaret Health in Hammond to learn about the cardiac rehab department
"This program provides me much more observation than the classroom. You have to be a professional here, too, because this is a real job." Based on her experience, Warzyniak has one word about her future involvement of working in health care after graduation; "Definitely."
Students interning at Franciscan Physicians Hospital are Megan Jubera and Caitlin Kearns. Jubera is working with imaging modalities and applying to several colleges for pre-radiological sciences. Her experience has countered her initial expectations.
Megan Jubera discusses a CT image with Bill Morgan, senior imaging tech at Franciscan Physicians Hospital
"I thought at first that I'd only be tagging along with people around the hospital, but they've gotten me really involved. It's much better than I'd ever expected," says Jubera. She became interested in the program as a result of a stay at Franciscan Physicians Hospital.
"I tore my ACL and had to come to Franciscan Physicians Hospital for an MRI. They showed me pictures of what mine looked like and what it should have looked like. I thought it was really cool and that got me interested."
Rosinski, program coordinator, enjoys the benefit internships provide. "These types of programs really set students apart from those who only have an idea of what the career entails. Our interns are required to have a good GPA along with clean discipline and attendance records. Furthermore, they're required to have two teacher recommendations." She adds, "We make sure students understand that once they step into the training site, they're no longer a teenager. They're a representative of that organization and a precursor for the next year's prospective interns."
Hodges, too, believes in the strength of the program, saying "Our students really appreciate people taking time to answer their questions and explain things to them. It gets them away from the TV image of health care and the full-rounded experience helps them appreciate the time they get to spend with staff."
2011-2012 Interns with the Franciscan Alliance are:
Nina Barnes, Karle Bateman, Jade Blessing, Allison Czazasty, Lisa Goldstein, Richard Guevara, Alexa Hughes, Kristen Milbrath, Shannen Sebahar, Melissa Shell, Brittany Warzyniak, Brittany Smith, Stephanie Wojcik, Megan Jubera, and Caitlin Kearns.
Note: Mrs. Rosinski is always looking for good training sites. If a company is interested in being considered, please send contact information to: Mrs. Kathy Rosinski, Lake Central H.S., 8400 Wicker Avenue, St. John, IN 46373.
