Education & Youth | Arts & Culture | New Haven Public Schools | Youth Arts Journalism Initiative
| JaMya Perkins. Aaliyah Treasure Photos. |
JaMya Perkins entered her junior year at New Haven Academy wanting to learn more about law. So her teachers let her know that she could—in an actual law office.
New Haven Academy (NHA) has been preparing its students for the workforce for 14 years by requiring sophomores and juniors to participate in internships. After beginning their internships in early May of this year, students concluded last week. Some will be staying on as summer interns or freelancers at their respective assignments.
“We want all of our students to think critically, not only in the classroom, but also about the choices they make in life and for their futures,” said Program Director and NHA Co-Founder Meredith Gavrin.
She said most high school students, if they work, work in after-school jobs where they don’t get to see much of the work day, or experience the fields they’re interested in pursuing. These internships are meant to give them realistic, hands-on experience and expectations. Students see the ins and outs of a work day—including occasional monotony—and get a more realistic sense of what the work entails. They also get to try out a field before they make decisions about where they want to go to school and what they want to major in.
“A lot of schools don’t do internships,” said 16-year-old junior Hosa Tay’Qaun Blue (pictured below). “But, we’re lucky to have internships at New Haven Academy.”
For years now, Blue has been interested in work as a surgical technician. In May, he got to try that out. Since it was his first choice he made no hesitation to take the job at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
“It will be [sic] the best opportunity for me so I had to go for it,” he said.
Blue said the internship was an opportunity for him to learn how to act in a work environment that he soon hopes to succeed in. Over several weeks, he said he spent his time working with families and building relationships with them.
Some days, he worked with the actual patients. Others, he was stationed at the patient check-in desk.
“The desk work isn’t as interesting as the hands on work, but I love the thought of me helping others,” he said.
North Haven resident Lynn Gabbard makes it all happen. Despite being retired, Gabbard has been working at NHA for five years as their internship coordinator. She said it’s her guidance and work ethic that help the long process of internships run smoothly for sophomores and juniors especially. That process of preparing juniors for internships can start as early as nine months in advance.
“I love to hear about the incredibly fascinating things the students get to do while on their internships,” she said.
In 14 years, she recalled, she's heard stories ranging from surgery on animals, shadowing Yale Medical School students during an observation exercise at the Yale Center for British Art, publishing articles for local news sources, and gathering images with a graphic designer. Students have recorded behind-the-scenes footage and jumped into legal proceedings, which she said helps make them feel special.
"Assisting in taking x-rays at YNHH, doing physical therapy with patient who tore his ACL, watching a physician's assistant cut a colon and a tumor, attending a murder trial ... the list goes on and on," she said. "Students are getting to see and do amazing things and I love to hear about them!"
She added that she finds it equally interesting when a students realizes that they don't want to pursue a certain career. She called it an invaluable outcome of the program, which is now a graduation requirement for all juniors at the school.
Perkins, a 16-year-old junior at NHA, has been interning at the law firm Wiggin And Dana. Early into the internship, she realized she was given more experience than she had expected.
Occasionally she attends briefings, trials, arguments and other law related trainings. She’s able to eat lunch with attorneys and judges who teach her, “the basics of the courtroom.”
Perkins has also been learning about different types of laws, and attending meetings related to health and housing cases. With all the note taking and organizing, Perkins said is experiencing the work environment of a law practice.
“The judges gives me helpful tips and insight on topics that never crossed my mind,” she said.
On top of that she said she hosts meetings, meets with clients, conducts legal research and assists with pre-trial work. What Perkins likes most about NHA having internships, however, is the opportunities they can provide beyond school. She has been given the opportunity to be a part of a summer program that she said could potentially give her a job in the future.
“These internships really helps us connect with the real world,” she said. “And help us figure out if this career is what we really want to pursue later on.”