Senior Internship

The 12th grade internship program offers a capstone experience for the personal, academic, and project design development of GCDS Upper School Students. Through the Internship Program, our Seniors have the opportunity to build on the foundational skills developed in 9th and 10th Grade, and honed in the Junior Thesis guided research process. The Internship serves as a real-world experience in which students apply their Portrait of a Learner capacities, as well as their experience in project-based learning, interdisciplinary thinking, and teamwork, to a real-world problem faced by an organization in the field of their choice.

PROCESS

In the spring of their Junior year, students identify a field of interest. Based on their interests, teams of 3-4 students are paired with a Faculty mentor, as well as with one of the Internship Program’s partner organizations. Drawing from GCDS’s vast and diverse community of alumni, parents, and partners, these organizations offer national and international opportunities, and represent virtually every professional field. Each team is also matched with a mentor within their organization, and students enter a year-long relationship with their organization, in which they identify major issues that the organization is facing and learn to develop responses and solutions. This also includes an on-site experience for the month of January in the Senior Year.

A team of administrators, faculty, and consulting professionals guide this program. Through the Senior Seminar course, as well as through discrete program events, the internship curriculum facilitates students’ construction of professional relationships, the application of their skills, and the development of an applied solution for a real-world problem. This rich and personalized program is designed to contribute to the college process, open pathways for students’ exploration and experience of professional fields, and serve as a capstone for the deep and dynamic learning of each student’s journey through our Upper School program.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

May (Junior Year)

• Students grouped into teams of 2-4 (based on field interest) and pair them with internship organization

• Student teams propose 1-2 Faculty Mentors with relevant content knowledge/skills

• 3 Training Modules, facilitated by current Seniors

  1. 1. Intro to Process; Team Work; Organization Relationships

     2. Prelim. Organization Identity & Needs Assessment

     3. Problem Structuring: Identify Problem, Develop Hypotheses

• Campus event for program mentors

Summer (Prior to Senior Year)

• Module 1: Client Identification

  • 3 days on-campus (August)

  • Faculty Mentors facilitate modules

  • Organization Mentors - 1 day on campus

Fall Semester (Senior Year)

• Through weekly meetings, students engage in 4 applied training modules offering exposure to different consulting products, challenge analysis, and problem-solving process. Each module culminates in a progress checkin/skill demonstration

• 1 Zoom call/month with Client Mentor (the goals of which track with the below modules); Setting goals and identifying challenge w/ organization (focus of research & consulting); Testing preliminary ideas with organization.

January (Senior Year)

• Internship on-site per project design

• Field work with mentor oversight

• Additional interactions as needed by the project

Fridays = Required, structured check-ins w/ Internship Program Team on campus, network with other projects

February-March (Senior Year)

• Continued site visits and/or Zoom contact with client 1 Day/week

• Senior Seminar = Recommendation Presentation and Report Development

  • Workplan for these 2 months

  • Structured reviews of data findings with Internship Program Team

  • Share draft recommendations and report with Faculty and then Client Mentor

April (Senior Year)

• Client Report & Presentation

  • Internship Faculty Mentor continues oversight

  • Revise, finalize Recommendation Presentation & Report

  • Maintain Client Mentor advising and continuity, possible follow-up visits

  • Last week in April:

    • Submit Report to Faculty Mentor and Client

    • Client Presentations Day(s) -- On Campus

  • Assessment by 2 Faculty Mentors with Client Mentor input

May (Senior Year)

• Following the client presentation and report, Seniors work with Junior Seminar team and Internships team to facilitate Stage 1 for the Junior Class

• Mentor conversations around how to highlight this work for career, ongoing opportunities, resume workshop

*Due to COVID-19, the Internship program is on hold for the 2020-2021 School Year and will return for the 2021-2022 School Year.