September & October Adventrues

We've now been in our internships for over a month and have plenty to share with you, from wearing firefighter gear to hanging out with office pets our interns are continuing to learn valuable work experience. I have to brag on our intern mentors because not only have they taken a high school senior into their work space, but they're helping our interns feel like they're one of the employees as well.

If you haven't had the chance to follow our Facebook page, you should do so! Our students along with myself share images and stories of what's happening in their internships, but also things that are taking place in the classroom. We recently had two interns Trevor and Parker who were interviewed by our district social media specialist, so stay tuned for a great highlight!

We've finally locked down two presentation evenings that we'd like to invite the public to. Our interns will each give a 15 minute presentation over their experiences this semester at their internship. Those two dates are Monday, December 18th and Wednesday, December 20th. Our presentations will start roughly around 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. so we'll keep you up to date!

Here's a link to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AndaleHS1/

-From the AHS Intern Classroom, Mrs. Bergkamp

Second Year and Another New Beginning

Now that our interns have settled in to their routines of their internship, I want to take some time to share with you the great things that are going on within our program as we begin our second year. This year we have a total of 19 intern students, only 3 of the 19 interns I did not have in Junior Explore so it's been a great experience to pick up right where we left off in the Spring in Junior Explore. Last fall of course, was our first year of our program. We were highly successful, but just like anything new there are things to iron out that you don't think about at the initial start. Our interns last fall did a tremendous job representing our program, and we even had four interns who landed job offers at the end of the semester!

As we look to begin a new year and have 19 new intern faces we've now began the process of getting into a routine at our internship location and building a professional relationship with their mentors. As I've spent countless hours on the phone and over email, setting up internships, every second is worth it when our interns come back to the classroom on Friday with all kinds of stories, new knowledge, and time spent outside the classroom in a true profession! Our interns enjoy being treated as a working adult and getting a TRUE glimpse of what the workplace is like rather than just a one day job shadow.

Of course this internship program would not be possible without our intern mentors from local and surrounding area businesses. Our mentors and internship sites spend over 80 hours through the fall semester with our interns helping them understand and providing them with meaningful tasks. Without them this program would not be existent! Below I have incorporated our internship sites so please take the time to thank them for their generosity to the students of Andale High School and the Renwick School District!

Internship Placements

Textron Aviation x 2
GLMV Architecture
Kansas Joint & Spine Specialist
Dr. Rosen - Pediatric Oncology
Children's Dental Professionals LLC
Michael Reno DDS
Great Plains Nature Center
Cassandra Bryan Design
Cancer Center of Kansas
Goddard Police Department
Sedgwick Co. - Goddard Fire Department
Ranson Financial Consultants LLC
Primary Medical Associates
YMCA - Marketing
The Law Company
Kansas Custom Carpentry LLC. - Lance Marx
Wichita State University Marketing
Advanced Physical Therapy
Mid-America Orthopedics
Ridgewood Surgrey Center
Kansas Surgery Center

Front-Row (left to right): Maddie Cress, Abby Smarsh, Laci Hoss, Taylor Smith, Kennedy Camp, Lexi Becker, Sophia Easter, Lauren Koehler, Caitlin Henry.
Back-Row (left to right): Jeremy Jansen, Caleb Blasi, Collin Pavlacka, Logan Nemechek, Parker Bruce, Arlen Cooley, Jonah Rowland, Jacob Peltzer, Hunter Stuber, Trevor Meyer 

What's a Curator? Let Our Intern Show You!

Many people ask what's a museum curator? This fall we had an intern who can now answer that question! Alexis Harris a senior in the internship program chose the career path of becoming a museum curator. She had the privileged to create her very own postcard exhibit at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum located in downtown Wichita, Kansas.

Alexis spent hundreds of hours piecing together this exhibit and it's now on display and open to the public at the museum! Below was when I visited Alexis at the beginning of November and then the last pictures are of her completed exhibit in December.

If you have the chance and never been the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum is very educational and fun to walk through, so don't miss out on the chance to swing by and look at one of our very own interns exhibits!

 
 

Interns in the News

In case you missed it this fall we had two interns who were featured in our local newspaper. Morgan Walther with Good Shepherd Hospice and Gabby Engels with Tall Grass Country Club and The Marriott. Great article! Pictured below is Morgan Walther, starting her day out at Good Shepherd Hospice.

Capping off the Semester with 17 Professional Interns

The end of the semester has now approached and we can successfully say we couldn't have had a more successful 1st year for the Andale High School internship program, and it's all because of these 17 wonderful and professional senior interns! There's no doubt that we were all a little uneasy and nervous at the beginning of the semester considering this was new and we had an idea of what we wanted it to become, but having the unknown sitting there in front of us was a little nerve racking.

I think back to when I told this group of interns that they would have to present for 15 minutes in front of an audience about their internship experience, and I think I got to see as many jaw drops and eye brow raises that a teacher could see in a semester! As the semester continued and everyone got settled into their roles at their internships, a level of professionalism and confidence began to grow inside each and ever one of the 17 interns. I began to see a group that started out in August and took the necessary steps to advance towards their soon approaching future. From resumes to mock interviews with business professionals we were able to create a level of professionalism that many of our mentors and businesses noticed!

I couldn't be more proud of this group as they've challenged themselves above and beyond and went out on a limb to try something new. I wanted to share with you three photos (when they didn't present they were allowed to wear "business ready" and when they presented they were to wear "Business Professional" without me telling you which is which can you figure out what "Business Ready" and "Business Professional" mean in attire terms), one is the first day of school and the second one is our last evening of internship presentations for the public. Not only are they a well dressed group of interns, but they've also gained real world experience that will guide them in their post-secondary future!

Pictured (Left to Right): Christian King, Cole Murray, Gabe Kuhn, Jacob Horsch, Cooper Bradbury, Zach Meyer, Aaron Kerschen, Kalista Mosher, Morgan Walther, Julie Archer, Gabby Engels, Ashley Burks, Chase Bartkoski, Alexis Harris, Kaylee Lies, Bailey Bugner and Myka Dalton.

 Pictured (Left to Right): Jacob Horsch, Cole Murray, Cooper Bradbury, Gabe Kuhn, Christian King, Aaron Kerschen, Zach Meyer, Myka Dalton, Gabby Engels, Julie Archer, Morgan Walther, Chase Bartkoski, Kaylee Lies, Ashley Burks, Bailey Bugner, Alexis Harris and Kalista Mosher.

Pictured (Back-Row, Left to Right): Kaylee Lies, Bailey Bugner, Morgan Walther, Julie Archer, Chase Bartkoski, Aaron Kerschen, Jacob Horsch, Cooper Bradbury, Gabe Kuhn.
(Front-Row, Left to Right): Gabby Engels, Ashley Burks, Myka Dalton, Alexis Harris, Kalista Mosher, Cole Murray, Christian King and Zach Meyer.

If you see these interns out and about make sure to recognize them for their hard work this semester and congratulate them on being the first graduating class of interns from Andale High School.

Go Indians!

-Mrs. Bergkamp

Four AHS Interns Land a Job

December 2nd was a sad day for our interns as they wrapped up their 12 weeks at their internship sites for the fall semester. Our interns found a place where at first was nerve racking as they were experiencing something they never had before, but quickly found a new "home" away from school that introduced them to their future careers they're looking to pursue. I know many interns walked out the doors on the last day sad to see that 12 weeks passed so quickly, and wished they had the same opportunity next semester; yet that's exactly what four interns got! 

We have had four interns who have been offered jobs to stay on at their internship sites and work after school and during the summer, an opportunity that is greatly appreciated and is very rare! These jobs were well deserving and a testament to how hard our interns worked this summer. On a side note, this wouldn't be possible without our mentors and internship sites! They have opened their daily work schedules to accommodate our students and to help them understand of what they're jobs entail giving them hands on experience which all of our interns greatly appreciated. 

In the upcoming months Gabby Engels will be working for Tall Grass Country Club where she interned for event planning. Cole Murray will start working as a Physical Therapy Tech at Advanced Physical Therapy. Jacob Horsch will continue his plumbing career and continue to work for L&B Plumbing. Lastly, but not least Zach Meyer will be working under Baughman Company for Civil Engineering this upcoming summer. 

 

Please congratulate not only these four interns, but all 17 of our interns for a great start to our program as they represented our school district in a very professional manner and I couldn't be more proud of them! 

-Mrs. Bergkamp 

Intern Morgan Walther- Good Shepherd Hospice (Hospice RN)

Hi, my name is Morgan Walther

The first time I wanted to be a Hospice nurse, was when my aunt Brie ,who is one, was telling me all about it. I’ve grown to have such a love for helping others in need. In some way, I feel like it is my calling. That I was “meant” to do it. There is no job in this world that I could think of being besides that.

I chose this career because I love what the people do. I love that the majority of them feel the same way I do about this job, or helping others. To reach this career goal, to my best abilities, to do the best I can and give all I have at times I am sure it will be tough, but I believe to reach it’s the compassion, the effort, and the drive. When being a Hospice nurse, It is critical that you give your all. You can’t give a little, you have to go all in, because these patients need us, they are depending on us to help them through this challenging time.

There is still many things that I am not aware of, and need to learn about in this career field, There is so much more to it than what I have seen, and what others have seen I am sure. But I would truly like to learn about the deep roots of it all, what truly goes on, how much is really done for them, to me, it’s not really about the money, it’s about doing what I love, and that’s what matters to most. I do tend to get nervous when I think about all I will see. I do believe that I am strong enough to handle it. But at times, watching someone in so much pain, nobody can just sit back and watch that and their heart not ache. I am nervous for my connection with the patience, of course that is my goal, to connect and make them feel just as normal and comfortable as they can be. But I don’t want to struggle at my job when I should be working over a patience uneasiness that could lead to death. I want to show them courage and hope, that everything just might be okay.

I worked as a CNA, and that is a huge advantage being able to see all that goes on, being able to physically help someone in need. Because for awhile I was uneasy about certain things, but I just grew to love the patience, I grew to love seeing the smile on their faces as others entered the room. Making someone feel so important, makes me feel like I am doing something right, and I’m  just as important.

I don’t really and haven’t thought much about other plans in mind, if this doesn’t work out or satisfy me the way I hoped for. My biggest thing, is I want to go into a place and make a difference, I want to go in and help others, I want to leave a place and know that I helped someone that day even if it was a little talk to help them get out of bed, or a big thing like helping them walk for the first time in ages. I could easily see myself working in a rehab facility, for addiction. It’s not my main thing I have in mind, but you are making a difference when you walk in there, People all around are in need of help, in need of comfort as their lives change widely over a certain period of time. To me, it is all about how you make certain situations, how you approach them, how you act during them, about them. So everyday, if you walk into it all, knowing that you could make your day that much better for someone in need, then it’s a good day.

Good Shepherd Hospice is where I will be attending my internship, Good Shepherd is not just a facility center, it is a form of care that addresses medical, emotional, and spiritual needs of terminally ill patients and their families.  Good Shepherd opened its first office in 1995. At Good Shepherd hospice, a motto they confide in and have, is “ We are givers, not takers, we are listeners, not talkers, we are promoters of others, not ourselves.” At Good Shepherd, we reach our goals. The average pay for a hospice nurse is $29-$32 dollars hourly.  Which estimates to about $48k-$52k a year. A registered nurse is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Services at hospice include: Home Health Aide Assistance

• Bereavement
• Pharmacy
• Childlife
• Medical Care & Pain Management
• Dietary Consultation
• Medical Supplies, Equipment & Respiratory Services
• Nursing Services
• Pastoral Care
• Child Life Program
• Physical, Occupational, Speech & Respiratory Therapy
• Social Work

I am extremely excited to begin this new journey in my life, I can’t wait to see what all the opportunities bring me.