Testing the waters: teachers talk about internships, job shadowing

SIDNEY -- Business owners and managers were encouraged to let students walk a mile in their shoes.

Sidney Public Schools teachers Ashley Fehringer, Lacey Russell and Curriculum and Assessment Director Tess Plummer hosted a meeting on student internships and job shadowing.

The program was also supported by the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce.

The meeting was designed to encourage businesses to welcome students who might be interested in an internship, or a job shadowing period. The Career Pathways program was addressed as well as the benefits of accepting an intern.

One of the SHS interns who spoke at the event shared how the internship experience helped her decide her career path. Carlie Black said the internship convinced her a career in medicine is her choice. The decision started with a job shadowing experience, an opportunity to see how a specific job really happens.

"I was able to job shadow at SRMC (Sidney Regional Medical Center) and I job shadowed an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) my junior year for a day. I learned so much," Black said.

She said job shadowing helped her confirm her direction vocationally.

"It really solidified how I want to go about my future. I definitely want to go into the medical field. It really helped me know for sure my abilities, skills and everything about my future that I'm excited for," she said.

She said she had the opportunity to learn about patient care and other skills that confirmed her interests.

"It's really made me excited for my future," she said.

Lacey Russell said the reason for the meeting was to inform the business community what internships and job shadowing are, and what they are not.

"When Melissa (Missie) Payne, Ashley (Fehringer) and I started to make some of these connections, we just want everybody in the community to be aware of what this program is, so if we ever do call upon you, you know what it is first of all. You know the importance of it. You have some background. We get a lot of 'no thank you. We don't want to babysit," or 'is it paid,' 'how much time does it require,' so we're just trying to get the information out there," she said.

For more information on the Career Pathways program, contact Tess Plummer at [email protected], or Missie Payne at [email protected], Ashley Fehringer at [email protected] and Lacey Russell at [email protected] regarding the internship and job shadowing programs.