Oakmont is home to many different programs and opportunities for the student body to discover, grow, and learn. The internship program is one of many programs that Oakmont has to offer. Internship program director and history teacher, Mr. Dana Altobelli, offers a unique opportunity different from any other experience at the school.
Many seniors have the option to take a class where they get to leave throughout the school day and go to an internship for the block. Whatever career path the student wants to pursue is on the table.
The program allows students to discover and explore what they might want to do after high school. A minimum of 70 hours is required to get full credit for the course.
The program runs A, B, and D blocks depending on what fits best in your schedule. The most common of the blocks is D, which is the official internship block.
“I have kids with A, B, and D Block, who are doing an internship,” Altobelli said, “Students need to be flexible. I need to be flexible. If a student comes to me and says, ‘Hey, I really don’t have much going on in A block, but there’s this opportunity over here working for me,’ then I will be open to hearing them out.”
What would a typical day look like for an intern in this program?
One of the beautiful things about the internship program is how different it is from a traditional classroom.
“I would say there’s no such thing as a typical day for internships,” Altobelli said, “All students come in and check in with me at the beginning of the block for attendance. And they go off and do their own things. Frankly, some kids are going home, and they’re just doing whatever they’re doing at home, typically getting high hours in 2 to 3-day spurts.”
Some internships from this semester include marketing interns, police department, elementary education, nail tech, and even construction site interns. There are endless possibilities for what an internship could look like.
“We have kids who are working in all the other schools in the district, and they’ll leave here, they’ll drive over to the school, and they will be there five days a week for the school day. And then when their day’s over, the interns are done. I would not say there is a typical; it’s a great deal of variety in what kids are doing during the week, “ Altobelli said.
Senior, Landon Matewsky, who interns at Kheller Williams Real Estate, said, “Every day I am doing a new task, and every day is a different experience.”
Landon continued, “Every day I am learning new lessons that I can take with me in any future endeavors. This program has been greatly beneficial.”
Every student has a unique experience that is difficult to find in a typical Oakmont day.
What skills do you think are most important for someone in this internship to succeed?
“You’ve got to be punctual,” Altobelli stated, “If you’re telling your employer, ‘I will be there at 12:00, 1:30,’ you need to be there.”
Students need to make a great deal of effort to be on time because that’s where they get in trouble, it’s the attendance. “They might always be late, or they just don’t show up at all,” Altobelli said. “So the attendance piece is a big skill, if you want to call it a skill. You need to be able to ask questions, and to have the confidence to speak to people who are older and know more.”
What would you give as advice to a student who wants to take this program next year?
“Students need to have a really clear, firm idea of what it is they want. I’ve had kids who signed up for internships, but they did no work to find their own. When I ask them what they want, they give back the response, ‘I don’t know.’ I tell them, ‘I’m not a shopping agent,’ Altobelli said.
People who have a clear idea of what they want to do need to be flexible when finding an internship. Most of the time, Altobelli can find an internship for the students even if it’s slightly different from what they ultimately want to do.
“I have a student right now who wants to study journalism. There aren’t many newspapers around here, so I had to find her another place, and she’s now working with a nonprofit in Gardner.”
That same student had other things to say about the internship: “I’m happy that I discovered that I didn’t really enjoy my internship, so I didn’t pursue that major in college and wasted the money.”
On another note, senior Guliana Cucchi has appreciated her internship as a nail technician: “I would say getting to leave school early and getting to go to a place where I actually can evaluate what I want to do in the future.”
Every student has a unique experience with their internship, and most of the time, they end up being happy with what they are doing.
How do interns receive feedback or guidance while they are working?
“There is a form that interns will be filling out at the end of term one and at the end of the semester. They are forms designed to require interns to sit down with the employers, to talk about the internship and how it’s going, and strengths and weaknesses,” Altobelli said.
“I’m hoping there’s a whole lot more going on besides just those two events. At a minimum, there are those two moments where interns and employers sit down and talk about the internship,” Altobelli said.
Although students should be connecting on a daily basis, at a minimum, those two events should occur to provide proper feedback.
Have you had any past interns who have really stood out in the program?
“I’ve had interns who stand out because they had one of two experiences. They absolutely loved it, and it confirmed,” Altobelli said, “I’ve had interns who hated it, hated every minute of it, which is, I think, terrific.”
“I see it as a huge success that they’ve learned really early, and cheaply, what they do and don’t like.”
Personal Experience
Throughout the course of my internship, I have learned many helpful tips and advice from
working within the program. I worked Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, starting in the Kindergarten classrooms and then going to First Grade classes within an hour.
What I do depends on the day. Sometimes I’ll teach the kids the lesson for the day, play rhythm on the drums alongside them, or play the piano as they sing along.
On Wednesdays, I go to the Elementary School Jazz Band from three to four, and on Thursday, A-Band rehearsals from the same time.
Working with the director of the elementary school music program, Mr. Kris Lucander, has taught me many insightful things, advice for the future, and preparation for work life after school. The internship program has been a unique experience that has really prepared me for the future.
The internship program is a phenomenal experience, unique from anything else Oakmont has to offer. Seniors who have been through the program highly recommend it to upcoming seniors and find it a great opportunity to broaden their thoughts about what they want to do in the future.
