Combining forces with business partners throughout southwest Ohio, Goshen Local School District’s Director of College and Career Readiness Andrea Conner has helped build partnerships with the University of Cincinnati Clermont College, Sporty’s at the Clermont County Airport, the National Weather Service, Lykins Energy Solutions, Beacon Orthopaedics, Drayer Physical Therapy, the Clermont County Park District and Lopez Studio Group to provide students with real world professional work experiences.
“We have many students at Goshen who have indicated to us that they would like to pursue studies in a variety of career fields, so instead of sending them off to college without any exposure to these fields, we’ve been able to connect them with area professionals to gain valuable experience,” Conner said.
Through this program, fourteen students at Goshen High School have had the chance to observe surgeries, assist in physical therapy, work with energy providers, study aviation, and develop architectural designs, just to name a few.
“Internships and experiential learning gives our students a competitive advantage when considering their future,” Conner said. “Several of our interns had incredible experiences that reinforced the chosen field is what they want to pursue after high school while some others learned that their chosen experience wasn’t for them. It’s better to learn that now than to go to college and to sink thousands of dollars into an education that may not pay off in the end.”
Since Goshen is a relatively rural area without a major business hub, Conner was faced with the challenge of finding internship experiences outside the area.
With the help of the Clermont County Chamber of Commerce, Goshen Local School District’s own business advisory council and simply making some cold calls, she was able to convince business leaders throughout southwest Ohio that Goshen students would be valuable assets to their companies.
“Our students deserve chances just like students in schools where there might be more businesses based in their communities,” Conner said. “We knew once they worked with our students, these companies would see what we already know; we have motivated and talented students at Goshen. After working at these companies, many of the supervisors and managers were very impressed, and they’re already anxious to get a new crop of Goshen interns.”
The internships wouldn’t have been possible without area businesses willing to take a chance with high school students. “We wanted these businesses to know that we weren’t sending kids to just job shadow or that they would have to babysit them,” Conner said. “We were sending students that wanted to be put to work.”
According to Conner, the internship program still has room to grow but with the valuable partnerships that have been built, a blueprint is now in place to expand the program and provide even more students will real world experiences.
“We couldn’t have done this without businesses willing to take a chance,” Conner said. “They realized that this was a win-win situation because they were helping young people gather valuable experience and possibly help develop potential employees for their own companies.”
Goshen celebrated the first year of the internship program with an Internship Showcase on Oct. 5, honoring the interns and the business partners. Business partners, Goshen Local School District’s board of education members, and parents were given the chance to learn about the various high school interns’ experiences at the conclusion of the evening.
“It was a great night to recognize our students and the local business leaders who were willing to make this possible,” Conner said. “I’m excited for the future of our program and what our school district can do for our students.”