Last semester, Gorham High School (GHS) piloted a new workplace learning program in which seniors at GHS had the opportunity to become better prepared for work, college, and citizenship.
The Workplace Learning Experience is meant to give participating students the chance to incorporate their own interests and passions with their academic career at school. In addition, this program can help these seniors show independence and possibly lead them into their lives after high school.
Students learned about a specific career path they were interested in by participating in a workplace learning experience as well as exploring interests and skills that are needed to achieve goals and create a professional resume and cover letter. They also explored appropriate employment opportunities and pathways to further education and/or training. At the end of the semester, these students presented a final project reflecting their workplace learning experience.
One of the eight seniors who participated is aspiring real estate business owner, Devyn Harrington. This past semester, Harrington took on an internship at Great Falls Construction and was trusted with the responsibility to complete independent work, with positive support.
Some specific tasks she did during the internship included: showing apartments to prospective new tenants, contracting and following up on inquiries, and organizing and sending out billing statements. Because of Harrington’s work ethic and skills, she finished up her internship and was offered a job at Great Falls. This is a major success for not only Harrington but also GHS’ internship program.
Courtesy of Eliza KenigsbergGorham High School senior Gracie Forgues participated in a new Workplace Learning Experience. Through internships last semester, she discovered a passion for science and now plans to study marine biology in college.
Another senior impacted by the Workplace Learning Experience is Gracie Forgues, who aspires to be a marine biologist. She is now quite passionate about pursuing a career in a science field due to the impact of her teachers and the work experience she gained from this program.
For Forgues’ semester-long internship experience, she took on several short-term internships in various locations in southern Maine. With these workplace experiences, she now plans to attend a four-year college to earn a degree in biology or environmental science and then continue her education with a graduate degree in marine biology.
Along with the impact from her science teachers here at GHS, the Workplace Learning Experience has helped her to find something she enjoys and intends to pursue as a meaningful career in her future.
Seniors earn credit for their workplace learning experiences. Depending on hours spent, they earn between 0.5 and 1 credit for their work. The pilot program included eight seniors but depending on interest, Aspire Gorham hopes to open the program to more seniors next school year.
If there is continued interest in this pilot program, it will be offered to seniors both semesters going forward. This year, since it was the pilot and because of the schedule change, Aspire Gorham ran a formal program in the fall and offered the opportunity informally to seniors in the spring, meaning that seniors can do semester-long internships but they are not embedded within a specific period and do not include the cohort reflection piece.