As the senior class begins to file into the auditorium, it is easy to see that the vast majority of the audience is half asleep. Students slowly fill the hundreds of padded seats and settle into what is expected to be nothing more than the usual class meeting. However, as the session begins, while it may be difficult to tell from the sleep-deprived faces of the crowd, the presentation of an unmatched opportunity begins.

Beginning in 2020, Revere High School began to offer a program that allows 12th-grade students to spend the last weeks of their high school career participating in an internship. This year, the program expanded to include a partnership with the University of Akron Business Center, which allows students to participate in the college’s micro-internship program. 

A student’s senior year can be characterized by laissez-faire thinking and a general easing into the end of high school. This phenomenon is known as senioritis, and affects students particularly hard following acceptance into colleges and universities. The Senior Internship program limits this issue and provides students with real-world experiences at the same time. 

RHS Counselor Emily Rion serves as one of the key advisers to the program and is crucial to its development. She explained why senior internships are so important and how the idea came to life. 

“I started the program my first year here. I wanted to do internships because I felt like it was something that was missing for seniors, that real-world connection, and this program gives students that opportunity” Rion said. 

Rion had experienced a similar situation at her previous school, Nordonia High School, and upon her arrival at Revere, wanted to implement a similar program. However, creating something of this scale can be difficult and only works if the situation is right. Rion explained why she believes the program has been so successful at Revere. 

“This is all possible because we have students that want a program like this; sure, they like to get out of school, but they also want to have real-world experiences as well. We have so many great experiences available to students, and I think they realize how valuable that is,” Rion said.

Aside from the impact it has on the school, the internship program also has a reaching effect on the community that surrounds it. In a world where finding qualified young people is as difficult as ever, the program allows businesses to build relationships with possible employees even before they head off to college. Rion explained why this connection is so significant.

 “Revere really creates a lot of professional, mature young people, overall just awesome students. Getting them out into the community they are a part of encourages students to want to come back to it and further enrich the place where they grew up,” Rion said.

“Brain drain” is a severe issue in many communities, a problem that arises when young people leave an area to pursue higher education and do not return. The internship program helps alleviate this issue partially. Revere Superintendent Dr. Michael Tefs was critical in establishing a partnership between the University of Akron Business Center and Revere High School. He gave background on the issue of brain drain and explained how Akron’s partnership could help to prevent it.

“The whole point of going off to college is to have employment. And if the job market is not front and center for our students to see the opportunities available in the area, they begin to look elsewhere. This is a diverse enough area in Summit County that it doesn’t matter what you want to do. The jobs exist here, and we just want to make sure our future human capital knows that. The demand is there, and this program can hopefully help to show our students that,” Tefs said. 

Revere is the first school to implement a program of this type with the University of Akron. Akron’s Business Center has run its micro-internship program for years, but this will be the first year high school students are allowed to participate. Tefs explained how Revere was able to make this connection. 

“We have a local community member, Jason DiLauro, who has a financial firm in Bath. Mr. DiLauro is a graduate of the University of Akron. He is on a couple of boards at the College of Business, and they have a college program like this, and he said that we absolutely have kids that could go through the same experience in high school and connect with a business as well,” Tefs said. 

Unlike the Revere-based internship program, Akron allows students to be paid for their experience. This gives students a chance to gain experience while being paid for it. This would require an investment by the business hosting the intern, a cost that may seem unreasonable for a high school student. Tefs explained why hosting an intern could be a win-win situation. 

“Since COVID, many businesses have been searching for qualified candidates. So when these businesses are going to fund this, sure, they are going to invest a sizable amount of money to bring in a high school senior, but they will have already established a relationship with a possible future employee prior to them even entering higher education,” Tefs said. 

The idea of taking students out of class, even in their senior years, may be foreign to some. Still, students may learn more in the workplace than they could in the classroom. Tefs provided information about the true importance of allowing students to gain real-world experience. 

“[A] typical high school delivers instruction at what we call the knowledge and comprehension level. But where you really make differences is where students get beyond knowledge and comprehension, where they can synthesize and evaluate information, when they are utilizing higher-order thinking skills. When we get you in the workplace, you are applying that to real-world situations and truly thinking on a higher level,” Tefs said. 

The level that Revere takes in its internship program is unparalleled in the area. Such a commitment comes at the cost of both dollars and time, and the program has excelled. Tefs explained why Revere places such an emphasis on the program’s growth. 

“One of the things that we emphasize at Revere is the student experience. More than curriculum, more than instruction, is the student experience. That idea is the DNA of what we’re trying to accomplish. We talk about the three R’s of the relationships that we build with students: relationships, rigor and relevance. I am really proud of this internship program. I do not know that it works in every community, but it is certainly working in this one,” Tefs said.

While the program, to many of its participants, likely serves as a test run of possible career paths, to some, the opportunity for immediate employment is attainable. For students not interested in pursuing higher education, the internship window allows a period for the individual to prove themself to a possible employer. Jeff Dallas, another of the program’s advisers, told of the success stories he has seen in his time with the program.

“Every year, I have had tons of students offered a job by the end of the program. For example, I put one student on a landscaping crew, and he worked there all summer. They really enjoyed the quality of his work, and after just those two weeks, they hired him, and he’s been there ever since. He showed what he could do, and they appreciated that enough to give him a job,” Dallas said. 

Despite its early success, the program is imperfect, and many improvements lay ahead. Additions such as the partnership with the Akron Business Center are prime examples of that evolution. Dallas explained what he hopes the program could someday evolve into. 

“I would like to make even more networking connections with our community and get to a point where we are not asking students to seek out their own opportunities, but local businesses are reaching out to us and asking us to send them interns,” Dallas said.

Another way the program could be expanded is the inclusion of the junior class. Opportunities at the high school that involve outside education, such as the CCP (College Credit Plus) and CVCC (Cuyahoga Valley Career Center) programs, are open to juniors. The internship program would continue to grow on that path. Dallas spoke about the possible opportunity. 

“We have talked about opening the program up to juniors. Building relationships and networking has no age limit, and allowing juniors to experience that would only serve to benefit them,” Dallas said. 

With the option of two unique programs, students may struggle with making a choice between which internship to choose. While the Akron program is only open to 15 students this school year, that does not mean it is not available to every interested student. Dr. Andy Peltz, principal of Revere High School, was key in setting up the Akron program, he explained who the opportunity is geared toward.

“When we met with the different business partners, they saw a need for a different type of workforce. We saw people that wanted people on the upper management end, but also businesses that wanted to hire as part of manufacturing, sales, the workers that make the things happen. They were not looking for a certain person, but someone who would be committed and willing to put in the work, that could be anyone,” Peltz said.

Sending students into the workforce, no matter the program that they choose, will have a significant impact on the community they enter. While the program ultimately aims to provide students with real world experience, another goal is to show the community the value of Revere students in the workplace. Peltz explained how important it is to showcase the potential of Revere students to local businesses. 

“We want to send students into the workforce who are polished, professional and prepared. That is going to change how people are thinking of high school kids. Instead of seeing them as kids, they are  looking at them as part of the workforce, and a contributing member to it. We want to prove to the community that our students are going to be awesome, no matter their age,” Peltz said.

The senior internship has provided an opportunity for students to reach out into the community, and show not only the value of their work, but the way in which Revere prepares students for life after high school. As the program enters its third year, improvements are still being made, and new opportunities are continuing to present themselves.

For those interested in participating in either of the programs, the deadline for application submission is March 24th, 2023. Seniors will participate in internships the last two weeks of school, May 15th through May 26th, and final presentations will take place from May 30th to June 1st.

For any questions please contact, Emily Rion at [email protected], or Jeff Dallas at  [email protected].