#11 Student Spotlight: Kate’s High School Internships Transcript

THIS IS AN AUTOMATED TRANSCRIPT…PLEASE FORGIVE THE TYPOS & GRAMMAR! xo-Lisa

I’ve never really been super interested in writing as a career. I can do it, but it’s not my favorite thing. I always say, just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do it. And that is when I encouraged her to do a little bit. Cuz one of the areas she’s interested in is photojournalism. And I thought the writing side of it would be beneficial for her to have also.

 

For our first ever student spotlight. I welcome Kate to the podcast, along with her mom, Melissa. From 13 years in dance to starring in Lakota West high school’s musical theater productions and heading to Vienna, Austria to sing this summer, Kate is a highly creative student and has done a fantastic job curating experiences and creative fields to gain clarity on what comes after high school graduation.

 

How cave has tackled this along with how her mom has been a support and connector for her without doing it for Kate, we’ll leave you with ideas on how to be intentional in creating experiences for your own team. I’m Lisa marker Robbins, and I want to welcome you to episode 11 of college. Your. A flourish coaching production.

 

Let’s dive right in to a great conversation.

 

I am so excited on this week’s episode of college and career clarity to do our first podcast with a, a student success story. I have a wonderful mother and daughter duo joining me from Westchester Ohio. Mom is Alyssa and daughter is Kate. Kate. Is a junior at Lakota West high school in Westchester, Ohio.

 

She has had some fantastic opportunities that she’s had to go out of her comfort zone and seize these opportunities. And I think she’s going to inspire other students to curate fantastic experiences. So Alyssa and Kate, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. It’s great to have you guys on. So I actually, I’m gonna start with Alyssa because we connected years ago at this point when I was speaking at your school for just the family event.

 

Yeah.  and that started you at the time you, you were entering this college bound journey with your oldest mm-hmm  and starting to wrap your mind around all of the things that started was been a great interaction. And you guys, I admire you as a mom, the intention that you’ve had around us with your kids, I’ve loved watching it.

 

And that’s why I wanted to have you guys on cuz you’re truly a success story. So. Share with our listeners. Go back in time. You’re starting high school parenting, parenting of high schoolers and teens. What were some of the early steps that you did to help guide and give opportunity to your oldest? To Kate right now?

 

Oh, gosh, I think one of the things that I encouraged, both my girls to do along the way is to try to experience different things and to try to see what interests them as much as possible and encourage them to go for it in areas where they are interested. I know this is a little off topic, but I, one of case interests areas is history.

 

And sophomore year, instead of taking AP US history, like a lot of the sophomore did, she was more interested in taking AP European history. And so we said, go for it. There’s no reason that you need to take us history just because everybody else is. And I think she enjoyed that experience. And she’s been really interested in trying new things.

 

I know that she or she’s taking a ceramics class, which was interesting. I think she’s decided that is not a path she wants to go after this, but that’s how you learn. Those kinds of things is a hundred percent. We talk in my large career clarity course when I’m teaching module four, it’s all about curating experiences, which is really the heart of what we’re gonna talk about today.

 

And one of the curated experiences. Taking courses at your high school or elsewhere, that will give you  experience to say, okay, that’s for me or not. So I view that Kate, as a win, like you got in there, you’re incredibly artistic and creative. So we should tell everybody that you are in your upcoming coming production of Chicago at your highest.

 

School. I didn’t know that there was a high school of edition of Chicago versus an adult edition, but there should be  you’ve danced for 13 years. And you recently took up TaeKwonDo. You tried doing pottery. And this summer, you’re gonna go to Vienna, Austria to sing. So you’ve really got this creative side to you, and you’re starting to explore that and figure out how that fits into careers.

 

We did your, when did we do your Beman? Was that like a year ago? Yeah, last summer. I think we did your Beman personality assessment to look at your wiring and how it lines with careers. So now you’re exploring all those things. I view it as a win when you take that ceramics course, and you’re like, Absolutely not

 

So I think it’s a win whenever we can start to funnel things up, because as you said at the beginning, the challenge on choosing a college major is you want to do all the things, right? Kate? Yes. Very much. So coming off of last summer, we started really intentionally working on this, your school Lakota schools, period.

 

There’s two high schools there, east and west. They have that real learning department at the school. Kate, can you tell me a little bit about what the goal of the real learning department is at Lakota schools? It’s not just internships. They post a lot about jobs that are open positions. I know they do a lot for medical observation type things, but yes, there’s a lot of focus on internships.

 

It’s really just. Trying to expose kids to see, oh, this is something that I wanna do or not like we’ve been talking about. Yeah. So I’m assuming that the jobs are actually paid work opportunities and then they’ve got unpaid opportunities, but working within the community to provide opportunities for, to get out there and really see jobs in action, curated experiences.

 

You have a very cool opportunity. That’s a year long. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about your internship, who it’s with what you’re doing, share a little bit about the opportunity and, and you had to interview for this. Let’s just say it’s not just a given that you sign up, you had to actually interview and you were the one chosen to do this internship.

 

So share a little bit about your internship that you’re doing this year. Yeah, I’m an intern through Ali Wolf photography. She’s a local photographer that primarily does senior photos and like family pictures. So yes, when I applied, I had to submit my resume and a cover letter and she picked three of the applicants to be the interns.

 

It’s really interesting because like she posts her calendar. For months at a time. And then if we see something where we’re free that day, that we wanna come and help out or just shoot alongside her. Like we’re allowed to, at any point, it’s not, oh, you have to come this day or for X amount of hours. It’s just, whenever you have time, feel free to stop by it’s flexible, which is fantastic.

 

Are all of the. Internships like this, that flexible, cuz that’s amazing to me. No, especially like the medical observation ones. They can’t go in and perform surgery, so they have to just watch it. But that one’s I know is definitely more like you come this day, you come this day, you come this day for X amount of time.

 

So super structured for a student who is, like you said, in our pre-interview time, you like to do all the things and you’ve got a lot going on. The flexibility of your internship has been a win for you. Yes, very much. So you mentioned there was a vetting process, but because I’m sure there were more students than just you that wanted to work with ally.

 

She’s a fantastic photographer. You said you had to submit your resume. And a cover letter, and then she chose students to interview. Did you have a resume already before you applied for this position? Yes, I did. I worked as a lifeguard at Kings island over the summer, so they needed one. We should say to everybody, cuz we’ve got listeners all over the United States and outside the United States, Kings island is a local amusement park.

 

So that was first. That was a paid job before this unpaid internship. And even that one. How old were you when you started at Kings island? I was 16. Okay. You had to have a resume for that as well? Yes. So it is never too early to get that resume together. And then you gotta update it along the way, because I bet you, a lot of our listeners are either parents of students or students, themselves who have not yet taken that step.

 

And so you don’t wanna be left scrambling to get that together when the time comes, because sounds like you were well prepared. You had to write that cover letter. You already had the resume and then you submitted it instead of having to get it together, then yes. It was surprising to me as a parent, when we discovered she needed one for Kings island, we did have a little bit of scrambling at that point to get it together quickly.

 

So she could submit that application. So you were a lifeguard. So even for lifeguarding at the amusement park, you needed a resume. And I think that’s fantastic. And I would also say Alyssa that’s probably where most parents find themselves with their teen is like, Wow. I did not know that was needed. So there’s gonna be at some point where you’re scrambling to get it done, but if somebody wants to be really proactive, go ahead and get that together.

 

Now, how many hours would you estimate a month Kate, that you’re spending with Allie? It definitely depends on the month. Like in the fall, he had a lot more going on just cause oh, it’s fall and all the pretty senior photos, all the things. Yeah. Yeah. There hasn’t been as much recently, but I don’t know, six hours, maybe six, six to 12, depending on the yeah.

 

Month. And probably depending on your schedule too, cuz you’re looking for opportunities when she’s doing things after school and on the weekends, are you actually in there like assisting her or are you more observing? It’s some of both, it depends on the day and the location, but especially if she’s outside, like she’ll have us.

 

The reflective screen that like bounces the light back onto the underside of a person’s face. Or if it’s really windy, she’ll have a stand on a light to make sure it doesn’t blow over , but totally that’s a real thing. So you’re coming right along and you have this opportunity with ally that came through the real world learning department at Lakota.

 

That’s a year long, unpaid internship. That’s quite flexible, but you’ve had a couple other opportunities this school year as a junior. And what I love and want you to share about is these kind of just develop one after the other. So what was the next opportunity that came up for you after this? Right around the same time as I applied for the valley Wolf internship, I also applied to one for our local chamber of commerce.

 

And every year they have the women of excellence awards and it highlights some women around the community who have made contributions to you like businesses or like nonprofit work, things like that. So there were, there were six of us. Chosen for that internship. And so everyone was given one or two women to write a little biography on mm-hmm  some of these other people nominate the women to receive the award.

 

And so we wrote it based on those nominations and yeah, at the end of the internship, we got a free ticket to the event and we got to meet the. That one also came through the school two weeks, unpaid short, little bit different. You’re writing, not doing photography, but still creative for you. And then you had a third opportunity that did not come through the school.

 

Is that correct? Yes. So tell us a little bit about, because what I love about this is you didn’t necessarily find this on your own. Parents are integral in helping us build our connections. So, Alyssa, you had mentioned Kate to somebody. Tell us a little bit about this next opportunity that came up. I work for a nonprofit and I’m involved in the local chamber of commerce and Lakota also has their real world opportunity person at most of the chamber of commerce meetings.

 

Uh, trying to find these internships. And I was just chatting with her. One day after Kate got the internship with Allie and she said, oh, you should talk to Michelle who owns Westchester Liberty, lifestyle magazine. I think they sometimes use students in their photo shoots. And I thought interesting since then, I’ve gotten to know Michelle better through leadership program that I’m in.

 

But mentioned Kate to her and she said, oh yeah, that’d be great. We’d love to do that. At some point we, we can’t pay, but we, it would give her opportunity to, to say I’ve been published in this magazine, you know, that kind of thing. So it was really mutually beneficial too, because I think a lot of more established.

 

Photographers prefer to be paid for their work. Yes . So it worked out well. So Kate that’s how that opportunity came about then Kate. So had a, your part of it. So your mom was the connector and then wasn’t it that they reached out to you? Yes. So I will say that Michelle was also the woman that I wrote about for the women of excellence awards.

 

So she already met me a little bit, but yes. So one of her editors emailed me. And said like, oh, we’re looking for a photographer for our April issue. Like this is the event that we’re wanting to cover their meeting twice between now and the deadline that we need, the photos. And so she gave me the details.

 

I told her which meeting I was going to. It ended up being both and yeah, I just took photos of the event.  and then did a little bit of minor editing, cause it was all in a dark room. And then I sent those back to her and we’ll see how that went. Okay. So has that one been published yet? Not that I’m aware of.

 

So I think it maybe is the end of this month. Great. Oh, I’m gonna be looking for that. That’s exciting. So that was a short unpaid, but now you’re gonna be able to add to your resume that you’re published and it could create additional opportunities. Mm-hmm  yes. I have a question. So Kate, are you on LinkedIn yet?

 

Uh, no, I’m not. That would be a next great place to go. I’m gonna give you my LinkedIn building guide. Also put it in the show notes for our listeners, because that is a great way to start also building connections, right? Building your network. But what I love about this is you as a high school, junior are already networking.

 

You’re building your connections. You are building your resume, have these experiences. So ceramics made you rule out doing that as a, a future career might be something fun to do on the side. How is your time with ally with writing for the women of excellence? That internship. Are they shaping your ideas around?

 

What comes after graduation? Have you gotten, is it helping move you towards clarity? I think the internship with Allie Wolf is helping a bit more than the one with the chamber. That one was really fun and good. And I got free food at the end of it.  that’s always a plus. Yes. Is it the longevity of your time with Allie?

 

Do you think that’s a differentiator than like a, a two week one off experience or is she letting you do more? What do you think is the difference there? I think there’s a amount of the timeframe that changes it, but also. I’ve never really been super interested in writing as a career. I can do it, but it’s not my favorite thing.

 

I always say, just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do it. Yeah. And that is when I encouraged her to do a little bit. Cuz one of the areas she’s interested in is photo journalism. And I thought the writing side of it. Would be beneficial for her to have also that helps get the clarity.

 

It’s almost like you had that experience and you’re like, I, I can do, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I should do. It’s not necessarily filling me up or fueling me right on the writing side. I guess it is facilitating clarity. There’s that idea of time with Allie, you’re going like, oh, still interested, still liking this, the writing side.

 

You’re like, that was a nice experience. I don’t know that I should be doing that all the time. Yes. Which is still a win, right? Yeah. It wasn’t necessarily that, like, it was bad. I think it was good exposure to like the possibility mm-hmm  of what I would be doing. If I went into photo Ajour I didn’t hit it.

 

And I love photography side of it enough that I would be you okay with doing the writing side. I love that. You’re thinking you’re making really good. Like that thought process there is fantastic. And I think a great model for conversations that families should be having at home. So I thank you for sharing your experience.

 

I am Kate. I’m proud of you. I’ve watched you over the last year. Put yourself out there, Alyssa, as a mom, you early on, just started. Facilitating opportunities and experiences. But what I see in you as a mom, and I wanna applaud you for this is you’re not in the driver’s seat. Kate is in the driver’s seat.

 

You are in a supporting role. So you guys are a musical theater family. So you’re in a supporting role, cheering her on. Helping facilitate opportunity. And I think this is a fantastic example. It was great having you guys on the podcast. Thanks. Thank you.

 

Students are at the center of what I do, which makes me absolutely love conversations like this. My hope is this episode gets your wheels turning for how to curate experiences for your own student. Even if they lack resources like Lakota’s real world learning department, you may even want to share this episode with your school as inspiration for what’s possible.

 

As always, I wanted to give you some actionable items to do with your family. I’d encourage your student to get both a resume and LinkedIn profile together. So you aren’t left scrambling when opportunity comes knocking. I actually just saw that happen over the last weekend. When I posted an internship opportunity through a partner and a student who really wanted it.

 

Wanted to get connected. Didn’t have her LinkedIn updated, which is where the individual wanted to connect. Now, if your student already has both a resume and a LinkedIn profile together, then perhaps it’s time to update them. Then you are ready to start brainstorming our teens own real world experiences.

 

The link to my student LinkedIn profile guide is listed in my show notes. If today’s episode was helpful to you, please. Re-share with a friend who needs this too, sharing, following the podcast rating and reviewing helps us resource more students to launch into a successful future. Thank you for listening to the college and career clarity podcast, where I help your family move from overwhelmed and confused to motivated, clear and confident about your teen’s future.