Students Experience Real-World Learning through Intersession

By MARILYN KELLY

Photo: Corey Velazquez
Seniors (from left) Alana Hunt, Megan Moy, Stephan Heddon, Emily Ren and Fenita Tan showcase their
research for the DNA Barcoding course at the Winter Expo.

Junior Kelly Shi went from writing academic papers in a classroom to helping organize wrongful conviction files and civils right cases in a law firm as a participant in the Internship Program at Frank McCourt.

Every day since December 15, Shi trekked from her home in Far Rockaway, Queens to the Novo Law Firm near City Hall, where she assists lawyers who represent victims in personal injury, civil rights and medical malpractice cases.

“One thing that I really enjoy is the fact that I am able to find an internship that directly correlates with what I want to do in the future,” said Shi. “This allows me to not only work hard, but [also] to really experiment with the idea of whether or not I actually want to pursue this [career] in the future.”

Shi is one of 18 Upper House students at FMHS who were able to set out into the big world of New York City and take part in the workforce, assisting professional lawyers, photographers and doctors in clinics.

Internship participants joined FMHS juniors and seniors in celebrating their achievements at the Winter Expo on January 29. They shared highlights from their work experience with an audience of students, parents, and teachers.

For Upper House students who took an intensive course during the Intersession, such as Race Studies and Documentary Filmmaking, the expo was an opportunity to present all the knowledge they gathered during their intensive studies.

In addition, sophomores screened their stop motion animation films, and freshmen presented their studies of Genetically Modified Organisms.

Ms. Melaugh and Ms. Stahl, who teach Humanities, taught the Race Studies course, which aimed to expose students to various perspectives on race.

“The opportunity the intersession provides is beneficial, but what students can make of it is up to them,” said Ms. Stahl.

Junior Dionna Jenkins said the Intersession gave her the opportunity to focus on a subject in which she is interested.

“I get to delve deeper into topics and think about them in ways that I haven’t before,” she said.

The Internship Program was offered last year by Ms. Morris, one of the school’s guidance counselors, as a club. This year, the torch was passed to Ms. Gates, who teaches Humanities.

“I want them [students] to have a better understanding of the field they are interested in,” said Ms. Gates, who visited interns at their work sites and graded them on six different outcomes.

For Shi, the Internship Program offered her a rare opportunity to explore her career interests.

“I enjoyed the fact that I was in an environment where I didn’t know anyone, so I didn’t have the tendency to rely on anyone. That way, I could learn to be independent,” she said. “Overall, I feel like this internship helped me confirm the fact that I really want to become a lawyer.”

Photo: Awa Sow
During Frank McCourt’s first-ever Winter Expo, junior Sofia Digiandomenico, discusses her experience interning in the marketing department at a casting agency.