From veterinary clinics to local restaurants and marketing firms, eighth-grade students at Grace-St. Luke Episcopal School completed three-day internships last week.
Kimberly White, dean of Grace-St. Luke’s Middle School and an eighth-grade English teacher, spearheads the internship program.
Such internships are more often seen at the high school level and are rare for middle schools.
The idea behind the internship program was to give students a project that they owned from the very beginning. Students chose where they wanted to work, and with the guidance of White, they handled all the communication on reaching out to businesses and securing the internships.
“In choosing where they want to intern, they have to work on communication skills, whether it’s phone etiquette, how to talk to an adult for the first time or why you want a job,” White said. “The point of it is to learn how to communicate effectively with an adult and learn some basic skills that would really help you out in the real world.”
The internships took place the weeks of Feb. 15 and Feb. 22. There were 59 eighth-grade students — the largest class size to date — participating in the program.
“Usually, we have some very strict requirements for the internships of three days and 6-8 hours per day,” White said. “We eased up a little bit because everyone’s comfort level with the pandemic varies.”
Some students conducted internships virtually while some were in-person, and others did a hybrid of both.
Paige Fernandez said one of her birthday parties was hosted at The Art Project, which is why she thought it would be a good place to intern.
“The Art Project is kind of an open space for kids to learn about creativity and kind of have no boundaries while working with art without making their house too messy,” Paige said. “Parents can have a bonding experience with their kids and guide their kids and see what they want to do.”
The Art Project, opened almost six years ago in Overton Square by Katherine Riederer and her sister, is a place for children ages 1 to 12 to create art.
“They can paint, use glitter, markers — we supply the materials, and all of our staff are artists,” Riederer said. “We give them suggestions of things to do, and every week has a different theme.”
Riederer, who has young children attending preschool at Grace-St. Luke’s and teaches some of the after-school classes, was excited to be a part of the internship program. Through her experience teaching after-school classes, Riederer said she had heard of Paige and her artistic abilities and was impressed after being contacted by the student.
“She (Paige) emailed us, and some of the questions she asked, I wouldn’t have expected to come from an eighth-grader. She has been very professional for only being 13 or 14 years old.”
Paige asked her about scheduling and dress code, among other things. Riederer hopes the internship teaches Paige more about The Art Project and enhances her interest in art in general.
“I know the point of this is to learn and grow,” Riederer said before the internships began. “I’m not going to make her go wash paint brushes or other mundane tasks. I want her to do something interesting that will keep her interested in the industry.”
Wanting to learn more about the innerworkings of a hotel, Jack Hagerman interned at the Henderson Beach Resort in Destin, Florida.
“I had been to the place beside it (the Henderson), and my family knows the general manager, so I interned with him,” Jack said. “He put me with the marketing person; I got to see how that runs. He put me with housekeeping; I got to see how that runs. I also helped with housekeeping, and I got to see the construction going on.”
Jack said his favorite part of the internship was watching construction and learning what goes on behind the scenes beyond “just what you see as a customer.”
Sam Gary spent his three-day internship with the chief executive officer of The Daily Memphian, Eric Barnes.
The online news publication was not on his list of choices, but the timing for other opportunities “wasn’t great or they just didn’t work out,” Sam said.
“But The Daily Memphian seems like one of the best places in Memphis, and I know Eric (Barnes) a little bit, so it seemed like the best option,” he said.
White says she always tells students to “shoot for the stars.” A few years ago, she had a student who wanted to work for a high-end car dealership. He called a McLaren dealership in San Francisco, and surprisingly, the company allowed him to intern.
“A lot of middle school boys aren’t into ‘school-school,’” White said. “That internship gave the student the carrot he needed to push through the academic side of school and realize that then he can get a job anywhere.
“The whole point of the program is to do what you love, and you’ll love your job forever,” White said. “If you love it, you do it because you love it, and that’s what the kids are learning.”