In this monthly column, High Tech High students will explore themes relevant to them in their own words. Junior Kenneth Pico takes a stab at the first installment.
The High Tech High Village “” comprising three high schools, two middle schools and one elementary school “” sits on the former grounds of the Naval Training Center in Point Loma. The schools are renowned for their excellence in education with project-based curriculum and rigorous classes that prepare students for college and “the real world.” One of the major opportunities offered at these schools is a hands-on training experience for students with local San Diego companies and organizations such as Qualcomm Communications, Sharp Hospital, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tangent Entertainment, the San Diego Natural History Museum and the University of San Diego. Stephanie Barrientos, an intern with the Media Arts Center of San Diego, recently participated in the San Diego Latino Film Festival.
“We reach out to the community through exhibitions and promote expressions through media art,” said Barrientos, one of many students offered this experience through High Tech High.
The junior class at each of the High Tech High schools is required to complete an internship for graduation and students’ internships divide into either the fall or spring semesters. Manpower Inc. interviews each student months before at their respective school and, based on those interviews, recommends placements to each school’s internship director. Students leave school at lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays to commute to their internships where they work and train with assigned mentors. On Fridays these students meet in class to discuss on-site experiences, assignments that teach them the structures, communications and networking.
So, what benefits does the internship program offer students? Brian Robles, internship coordinator for High Tech High Media Arts, explained, “The objective of the program is to prepare students so that they bridge the academic and professional worlds successfully.”
Beyond the obvious hands-on training at specific organizations, students learn what it is to be a part of a professional setting. As Madeline Candy stated matter-of-factly of her experience with the San Diego Repertory Theatre, “It definitely helps with my resume.” Besides work experience to look back on, students learn about networking strategies, organizational structures, mission statements and internal and external communications, as well as how to execute them.
Bianca Padron, a student with an internship at High Tech High Village school Explorer Elementary, expressed positive feelings about “being able to leave school for awhile, be independent and train in a business environment.” To get a feel for the workplace and interact with mentors involved in specific fields, whether directly relevant to a student’s desired future profession or not, provides an amazing opportunity and a head-start in understanding the professional world of which they will soon take the reigns.
Kenneth Pico, 16, is a junior at High Tech High Media Arts. School interests include humanities and photography. Pico said he is considering a few colleges in particular once he finishes high school, among them the University of San Francisco, Syracuse, the University of Oregon and Northeastern University in Boston. He hopes to become a photojournalist and/or English teacher.