• HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE THE TIME. Many high school students are out from school as early as 12:30 or 1PM each day. This allows them to have time to get to the office and work for a few hours in the afternoons. I recommend high school student's only intern 2-3 days per week and only for 2-3 hours per day. Keep the workload light. This is a first experience and a huge learning experience. It's important to get good grades in high school so that needs to be a priority right along side your internship. If a student is juggling an internship and a job or after-school activity, try interning a few hours in the afternoon 2-3 days per week and then working in the evenings or interning on the days you have off from practice.




• HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE THE SUMMER ! Most high school l students do nothing but work and play during the summer. An internship is a very interesting element to add to the bunch. Students could intern a few days per week and then work in the late afternoon/early evenings and make time for their friends on the weekends or on their nights off. Summer is a great stretch of time to really take advantage of. Most students have about 12 weeks off for the summertime, I suggest trying to get an internship for 6-8 of those weeks. As for the other weeks, give yourself time to relax !




• THEY HEAR ABOUT THE ECONOMY ALL DAY. Let's face it, you can't turn on the TV, sit down at the dinner table, walk into a store without hearing something about the state of today's economy. High school student's hear it all of the time and it's forcing them to really start thinking about their personal futures. Internships are a way for them to stop talking and start participating. Starting to intern in high school is a great way for student's to play an active part in their future.



• A GENERATION OF DO-ERS. Studies have shown that student's are loosing interest in the "Bad Girl" trends that covered the media in the past years. Student's no longer want to follow the rebellious ways of celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, they want to see "pure role-models". They want to take actions into their own hands and really be involved and change the world. Thanks to public figures like Barack Obama, student's have taken a large interest in Politics and the ways of our world. Internships allow students to take hold of their lives and start setting goals for themselves at a young age.




• THEY WILL BE FRONT RUNNERS. I always talk about the importance of having internships on your resume before you graduate college. 70 percent of college students have internship experience on their resume before they graduate (NACE), can you imagine how much that number will increase over the next few years ? With student's starting as young as high school, not only will the amount of student's with internships increase, but the number of internships these student's have is going to increase as well. All of these high school students are going to be prepared and one step ahead of the game. When it comes to interviewing for college internships, these student's are going to grab them ! This will also look FANTASTIC on their college applications !




• THEY CAN ESTABLISH GREAT CONTACTS AND LETTERS OF REC. High schoolinterns can get great letters of recommendation to use for their college applications at these internships. You never know where your internship coordinator or the head of the company went to school. Many company heads have great alumni resources and connections as far as getting into a great school and meeting great people. Making these contacts early on will help your college apps and head you in the direction of some great jobs and internships in the future.




• HIGH SCHOOL ARE LIVING AT HOME. I think the "home" advantage is actually a big one. Most college students have to fully take care of themselves, feed themselves, transport themselves to and from their internships, etc. High school students can oftentimes rely on parents to transport them to and from their internships. They usually have dinner prepared for them by their parents so they don't need to worry about this expense. Having parents help out with internships can have a very positive affect.



• HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CAN LEARN ABOUT THE REAL WORLD. What better way to teach students about the real world then to place them in the workplace for a few hours each week and let them help and observe what goes on. This environment provides a bit of a reality shock to the students. This opportunity allows them to really visualize their future and envision what they are constantly told they need to work so hard for. This also provides them the opportunity to identify their likes and dislikes regarding certain careers, departments in a company, office atmospheres, etc. Students are always told the importance of traits like punctuality and cooperativeness - this provides a clear understanding of why these character traits are so important.

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Article by, Lauren Berger, dubbed "The Intern Queen" after participating in fifteen internships during her four years in college. She built her "Intern Queen"brand in May of 2006 and recently teamed up with Quarterlife to create the Quarterlife Internship Program where students can get FREE access to internships in the entertainment and journalism fields. Berger also provides Internship Advice and Content for students.