Internships and work opportunities at education centers result in employment and career guidance for high school and undergraduate students

Relevance:

Part-time paid positions and internships for high school students provide valuable experiential learning opportunities and development of essential job skills. Paid internships that provide meals and housing for undergraduate students allow on-the job training for specific careers within an equitable environment.

Response:

The three Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant-supported education centers offered a total of 13 different paid internships, summer counselor positions and work opportunities for high school and undergraduate students at their respective workplaces. Interns, counselors and students worked directly with youth, assisted in curriculum development, participated in and communicated with the public at outreach events, and became more familiar with northern Gulf of Mexico organisms and ecosystems. 

Results:

The summer work experience in environmental education resulted in one summer intern, with an interest in and some classwork in education but lacking credentials, being employed as a science teacher by a high-needs school in rural Alabama. Other individuals participating in work and internships reported that the experience gave them more confidence or direction in their choice of careers as well as increased knowledge of inhabitants of and issues facing the Gulf of Mexico.

Recap:

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant-supported training allowed intern to receive a teaching position in science at a high-needs high school in Alabama, despite not having a teaching degree. (2022)