Special Services Internships

When discussing the motivation for doing what you do, the question asked most often is, “What’s your why?”.  Without a doubt, creating internship opportunities for students receiving Special Services is my “why”.  

Going back to being a high school student at LSHS I was given a great opportunity to help tutor in a classroom where the curriculum was very functional to increase independence for the students when they graduate.  I loved the direct connection to the real world.  I knew from then on that I wanted to have an impact on giving students the best chance to pursue whatever post-secondary goals they have on their terms.

Internships give students so many obvious positives like increasing their skills at a particular job,  finding out if they like/dislike a certain job, and increasing their professional skills (organization, punctuality, communication, etc.).  The piece I enjoy being able to witness firsthand is the relationships that are being built at the internships.  Of course, I would love to have the internship turn into paid employment, but the positive relationships being built are moments that any person can cherish for a lifetime.  I have seen students grow in confidence not only at their jobs but socially at their placements to find a real sense of belonging.  These types of experiences help reach the whole child, and I couldn’t be more fortunate to watch students in these experiences.    

Pictures are worth 1,000 words for a reason….