Focus is hard to come by for the seniors this time a year. On Friday, their high school careers on campus will come to a close except for AP classes which end after AP testing concludes. From school the seniors leave and go onto a internship of their choice.

Internships give students experience with work life and give a glimpse into what may be the future work world for students once college is done.  As part as a required part of senior year, seniors must find an internship that relates to their anticipated area of study for college or area of general interest. Students are allowed to travel as far as outside the country to pursue a passion that they have.

Ellie Kimmell is thinking about majoring in business. Ellie will be working with ODA parent Richard Karp in his masonry company. Brenna Correy, interested in living in the Pacific Northwest, decided to intern at a restaurant in Seattle. ODA football team wide receiver, Drew Fineburg, is interning at Athletic Edge, a private local gym, as an assistant for the personal trainer. Globe trotting Jake Furman will be working at a zoo in South Africa with a zoologist he met while participating in a summer wildlife program at an African wildlife preserve.

Ms. Evans helps students choose a path to follow and decide a best fit job. Students are required to spend at least forty hours on the job to complete the internship.

During the process, Ms. Evans works with ODA Development staffer, Shannon Droskey, to create a database that lists all the jobs the seniors will be doing and where. Each year they build the database, the process gets easier and the resources increase for the upcoming classes next year.

For the future ODA seniors, Ms. Evans recommends that students start to consider options for internships early such as over summer breaks or early in the fall of senior year.

We wish the best of luck to the seniors this year and look forward to hearing about the seniors’ adventures.