Stories From the Field: Lehman YABC

What Makes a Meaningful Internship?

Consider two students ready to set off on their first internship. For one, the experience is disengaging, boring, or embittering even. The other has a life-changing experience. What was the difference? Why did one internship flop and the other shine? Which parts are under our control as educators – and how can we design our programs to ensure success? Principal Martin Smallhorne and Program Director, Natalia Alverez-Plaud, at Lehman YABC have thought a lot about these questions. Lehman YABC runs a highly successful internship program, repeatedly identified by LTW stakeholders as impactful. To learn from these two educational leaders, Eskolta met with a focus group of ten students to talk about their experiences. Almost before we could begin students were buzzing with answers: Lehman offered work-based learning that was personally meaningful, provided internships with avenues for growth as individuals, and above all, set clear expectations about how to thrive in one.

High Expectations From Minute One

Our focus group was scheduled for 1:00 p.m., several hours before students were required to be on-site. But Lehman YABC students started piling in at 12:45. It turns out this was the first expression of a big component of Lehman’s success: high expectations. Expectations at Lehman are set sky-high, explicitly relayed in a variety of formats to ensure clarity, and modeled by everyone from the principal down. For instance, our early arrivals embodied Principal Smallhorne’s emphasis on punctuality. “If you’re on time,” students explained to us, “You’re late.” Likewise, students’ phones were already put away, chatter was muted, and they were all smartly attired according to the school’s dress code. One student explained this philosophy in the following terms: "[Principal Smallhorne] wants to put us in the winner mentality.” Another student was quick to add that demands like the dress code weren’t creatively stifling. “You just make sure that [your expression] aligns with the business casual type of vibe that we have for YABC,” he said. Students underscored how Principal Smallhorne dresses every day - in a suit and sneakers - a testament to his unique style. Consistently modeling these expectations made buy-in a choice to join an enthusiastic group rather than a demand to conform. They meant students showed up for their internships mentally prepared to succeed.  

Communication is a Learned Skill

Setting high expectations requires effective communication, and the skill of communication became an important through-line in our discussion. Multiple students discussed cultivating their ability to communicate well and its importance to an internship. “If you're talking to someone at your job and you seem childish… They would prefer somebody that's more well-spoken, somebody that can hold eye contact,” she explained. During our discussion, we were met with a steady stream of eye contact from all students. It was direct, warm, and unwavering, all challenging skills for many people to master let alone young people speaking to researchers they never met. 

Making a Purposeful Match

Leham students connect to a truly wide variety of experiences. Just in our focus group, students detailed internships that ranged from work at an animal shelter to the New York Botanical Gardens to Yankee Stadium. Several students got hired for full-time positions at sites they initially interned at. Everyone found the experience valuable. None of this was an accident. Rather Lehman YABC spent considerable time matching students to the specific internships they were given. Students spoke to three considerations for a good match: student’s interests and aspirations, student’s backgrounds and existing expertise, and the opportunity in the internship to directly build professional skills. 

For instance, an intern who worked at Pet Life, an animal shelter, spoke about their pre-existing interest in “going into veterinary care” and being matched to a place that provided hands-on experience. Another intern underscored his point, “I feel purposeful. I love working there. You accomplish something… Every time I go, I feel like it's amazing.” Likewise, an intern placed at a senior health center spelled out the connection with their cultural background,  explaining, “The population is 95% Hispanic… I feel like there's a cultural aspect to it that I can relate on.” Finally, students spoke enthusiastically about proximity to decision-makers. “I get to see our boss, how she runs things, how she built her company from the ground,” one student explains. “We get to watch that and we get to see how that is, in case we want to have a business in the future. I enjoy my site a lot.” 

Another student appreciated being offered an opportunity to collaborate directly on the projects he’s been tasked with supporting - practicing skills directly on the job.

Discovering the Right Fit 

The goal of every internship is personal growth, but - beyond the qualities of a purposeful match just given - rather than meticulously plan for that growth route Lehman YABC stays responsive to their emerging needs. During our focus group, many students spoke about the benefits of holding multiple internships. When approached with a seriousness befitting the program’s high expectations, each experience offers a valuable perspective even if it ultimately doesn’t last. For example, one student spoke to a second internship that gave her “more structure” than her first one. “It grounds me and it keeps me busy and gives me a lot of work ethic and experience,” she explains. Another student who used to stock shelves found the internship to be a “headache every day” and enjoys his current placement as a dishwasher and porter, which does not conflict with his school schedule. Progressing academically was particularly important for this student. A third student spoke about his shift into an afterschool program. “I am somebody that needs to be moving around and have a lot of energy. So [my first internship],  yeah, it's really calm, but I need a little chaos.” Now, at the afterschool program, he tutors and plans lessons, which he discovered, is a better fit for his energetic personality. 

Everyone we spoke to at Lehman YABC  shared a collective pride in being part of the program. Again and again, we heard students speak to the power of internships to teach valuable skills, instill a sense of purpose, and help them figure out what types of real-world work complement their existing passions. It’s a model for success they hope the rest of us can learn from.