Staples High School’s Internship Program is a win-win-win.
Every spring, talented and eager seniors leave school 3-4 weeks before graduation. They spend the final month out in the real world.
They work everywhere: retail stores, salons, restaurants, non-profits, medical offices, financial firms, design shops, farms, marketing companies, photography studios, publishers … you name it. If there’s a job to be learned and done, they do it.
(And not just in Westport. Interns head to New York City — even beyond.)
The work and real life experience they gain is invaluable. The energy, creativity — and help — they bring to the workplace is huge. And the internships get them out of high school at a time when senioritis would otherwise kick in (that’s the third “win”).
Interns work down on the (Wakeman Town) Farm …
But as hard as they work, the program coordinators work equally hard right now arranging 420 or so internships.
So they’re asking the greater “06880” community: Can you help?
Do you need a senior (or two, or three) for daily onsite (or remote) work? Perhaps you’re beefing up your social media presence. Or looking for research help, design work, web content, data entry. Or hundreds of other tasks.
You can be a small, medium or large size firm– or a single proprietor. Maybe you were an intern once yourself, and want to give back.
(NOTE: “06880” has had Staples interns for several years. They’ve done everything from create a photo book, to kick-start our video presence. They’re great!)
… and on the field, for PrepZone.
Internships begin in mid-May. Students are expected to work 5 hours a day for 3-4 weeks, onsite, remotely or in a hybrid model. Program leaders provide guidance and oversight.
If interested, or to learn more, email program directors Lauren Goldshore and Jessica Larit: shsinternship@westportps.org.
Staples High School’s Internship Program is a win-win-win.
Every spring, talented and eager seniors leave school 3 weeks before graduation. They spend those final weeks out in the real world.
They work everywhere: retail stores, salons, restaurants, non-profits, medical offices, financial firms, design shops, farms, marketing companies, photography studios, publishers … you name it. If there’s a job to be learned and done, they do it.
(And not just in Westport. Interns head to New York City — even beyond.)
The work and real life experience they gain is invaluable. The energy, creativity — and help — they bring to the workplace is huge. And the internships get them out of high school at a time when senioritis would otherwise kick in (that’s the third “win”).
This is not a 2020 photo. For many years, Staples interns have worked at hospitals, medical clinics and doctors’ offices.
But as hard as they work, the program coordinators work equally hard right now arranging 420 or so internships.
So they’re asking the greater “06880” community: Can you help?
Do you need a senior (or two, or three) for daily onsite (or remote) work? Perhaps you’re beefing up your social media presence. Or looking for research help, design work, web content, data entry. Or hundreds of other tasks.
You can be a small, medium or large size firm– or a single proprietor. Maybe you were an intern once yourself, and want to give back.
Internships begin May 19. Students are expected to work 5 hours a day for 3 weeks, onsite, remotely or in a hybrid model. Program leaders provide guidance and oversight.
If interested, or to learn more, email program directors Jessica Larit and Lauren Goldshore: shsinternship@westportps.org.
These students capped their internship at a local kitchen with a delicious party.
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There was a lot to choose from last night in Westport.
Mike Birbiglia was at the Playhouse. Sustainable Westport sponsored a talk on making our town more walkable and bikeable.
Doris Kearns Goodwin captivated a sold-out crowd at the Westport Library. In an easy but wide-ranging, deep and educational conversation with former NBC anchor Brian Williams, she offered insights into the American presidency, her husband Richard’s role in our history, and her own place in all of it.
The event celebrated a new partnership between the Library and the Remarkable Theater. Details will be announced soon.
At a private reception afterward at Remarkable Theater founder Doug Tirola’s house — hosted by his wife Kristen — their son Cooper and friends Ben Seidman, Ava Waldman and Caroline Motyl joined Williams in reading from the historic speech Richard Goodwin wrote for President Lyndon Johnson, introducing civil rights legislation in 1965 after “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama.
Then everyone sang a song by Kearns Goodwin’s favorite group, the Platters: “The Great Pretender.”
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Brian Williams and Staples High School graduates Ava Waldman and Caroline Motyl, singing together. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Also last night, 150 tech and entrepreneurial types gathered on the La Plage patio at Longshore, for Startup Westport‘s summer social.
There was high energy at that event (and all the others). The public/private Startup Westport partnership brings together many of the town’s most creative innovators.
If I missed something else, my apologies. There was just too much going on.
And it was all good.
Startup Westport founders and officials, at La Plage. (Photo/Noah Fenn)
Also last night: the monthly Representative Town Meeting session.
Members voted 29-4 against a petition to reject a new Board of Selectwomen regulation, which prohibits access to the Westport Community Gardens near Long Lots Elementary School from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. during school days.
The RTM also voted 30-2 against modifying the hours of access.
The regulation — passed last month by the selectwomen — is effective immediately.
It took 10 innings. But Rhys Jamali’s single, driving in Luke Oakley, gave the Staples High School baseball team a thrilling 4-2 state tournament semifinal win over archrival Fairfield Warde yesterday, in Waterbury.
The victory vaults the Wreckers into the Connecticut “LL” (extra large schools) championship game. They’ll shoot for their 3rd title since 2017 on Friday or Saturday (to be determined), at Middletown’s Palmer Field.
#19-seed Staples’ foe in that game is #4 Amity. The Wreckers fell to the Woodbridge school 6-2, earlier in the season.
Revenge will be on coach Jack McFarland’s team’s mind, as it was yesterday. Warde (ranked #2 in LL this year, and the 2-time defending state champion) ended Staples’ title hopes 2-1 last year in the final — also in 10 innings.
Andrew Oppenheimer pitched 9 strong innings yesterday. Mason Tobias got the win in relief, pitching out of a 10th-inning jam.
There’s another Staples team vying for a state championship too: boys rugby.
The Wreckers trounced Trumbull 55-17 earlier this week. That sets up their title match: Saturday (June 8) vs. longtime rival Greenwich, at Southern Connecticut State University. The time has not yet been determined.
Staples High School boys rugby team.
===============================================
Young patients love reading books in the Village Pediatrics waiting room.
Then they go outside on the “Story Walk,” and read more.
The newest addition will also interest their parents (and grandparents). “The Pronoun Book” explains gender-neutral pronouns to men and women people who may not have grown up with them.
The display was installed recently by Village Pediatrics’ Staples High School senior interns, Stella Libman and Sophie Lubis.
This is the medical practice’s 12th year of participation in the internship program. It’s a way to introduce graduating seniors to the world of pediatrics and child development.
Village’s founder Dr. Nikki Gorman enjoys seeing her former interns around town. And, she proudly notes, her first — Emily Harris — is becoming a pediatrician herself. She trained at one of the premier programs, Boston Children’s Hospital.
Village Pediatrics interns Stella Libman and Sophie Lubis with “The Pronoun Book” on the Story Walk.
Speaking of youth sports: Twice a day, Maxx Crowley walks his dog at PJ Romano Field.
Sunrises and sunsets are always different. But one thing seldom changes: There is trash everywhere.
This was the scene Monday night:
That’s bad. But — compared with what I sometimes see at Wakeman Fields — PJ is almost pristine.
Come on, coaches. Parents. And especially, young athletes.
You can do better than this.
A lot better.
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Marcy Sansolo — the one-woman wunderkind behind the “What Up Westport” Facebook group — is at it again.
She and Lisa Marriott are spearheading a drive to collect new underwear for Norwalk’s Open Doors Shelter (this Saturday, June 8, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Imperial Avenue parking lot). It’s a small item, but something every shelter needs.
Any type of new underwear for women and children is great. The shelter requests boxer briefs for men.
Can’t make it Saturday? Lisa will pick items up, or accept them at her Town Hall office. You can also send them to her via Amazon. For details, email lsmarriott@gmail.com.
The sender wrote: “You just narrowly missed hitting me and my dog while driving what I assume is a blue BMW, going up Thomas from Imperial. License plate ‘06880.’
“It was so close and so egregious that the car in the oncoming lane swerved onto the grass side, got out of his car, and motioned that you were CRAZY.
“Blog aside, be a better community resident and stop speeding. You clearly were!”
As regular readers know, “06880” is a longtime advocate for safer streets. You can imagine my surprise at this email, because:
I don’t drive a blue BMW.
I was not on Thomas Road.
My license plate is not “06880.”
When I protested, the emailer replied that he had been told by 2 witnesses that I was the driver — presumably, because of the license plate.
I am happy to take the blame for anything I get or do wrong on this blog.
But please don’t come after me for a car I don’t drive, or a license plate I don’t own.
Not my license plate — or my windshield.
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Quick: What kind of business is Squeeze?
A juice bar? Retailer of stress balls? Dating app?
Nope. It’s a “massage service destination.”
The newest location opens June 28, in the Fresh Market shopping center.
Promotional materials say, “Squeeze was created to disrupt an outdated industry by providing consumers an accessible, stress-free, and personalized massage experience….
“(In) a prime location surrounded by fitness studios, shops and food & drink offerings, the opening of Squeeze provides a one-stop-shop for health and wellness needs. The 1,838 square-foot shop boasts a modern yet sophisticated design, which features six treatment rooms. The ambiance at Squeeze is carefully crafted to foster a relaxing setting, promoting comfort, and enhancing the overall well-being of its guests.
“With its personalized app-based approach, each massage is tailored to the customer’s liking including pressure, music, lighting and the ability to tap a ‘ready button’ letting the therapist know to return in-room to begin the massage. Guests are also able to set preferences around what body areas to focus on, pressure, oil or lotion and more.”
Squeeze also offers deep tissue, heat therapy, percussion therapy and aromatherapy.”
The Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge downtown honors a woman whose life was filled with music and service. She was dedicated to hospitality and the United Nations. Through jUNe Day and other events, she brought tens of thousands of international visitors to Westport.
Every jUNe Day, flags of many United Nations members fly on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Post Road bridge. Cohen established the annual event in 1965.
The basement of Steinkraus Cohen’s Darbrook Road home was filled with paperwork. She never discarded a program, agenda, or the minutes of one of her Wednesday meetings.
Over 60 boxes of Steinkraus Cohen’s papers have been stored at Adams Academy on Morningside Drive North. This month, the United Nations Association of Southwestern Connecticut is tackling them — helped by 4 talented and hard-working Staples High School interns.
Kylie Race, Claire Redmer, Savannah Schaefer and Samuel Zuckerman started the cleanout last week. They wanted this internship to learn about international relations. Now they’re getting a crash course in how Steinkraus Cohen thought globally — and acted locally — for 50 years.
Claire Redmer, Kylie Race and Savannah Schaefer encounter an actual film reel.
The interns sorted through box after box. They found press clippings of Steinkraus Cohen with Eleanor Roosevelt, and letters from George Bush, Bill Clinton and Kofi Annan.
Savannah Schaefer with 50 years of correspondence.
There were hundreds of photographs of 50 years’ worth of jUNe Days, with international visitors enjoying Westport.
With the interns’ help, the UNA SW CT hopes to create a Ruth Steinkraus Collection of papers.
Sam and Savannah are learning about archiving, and will lead the process with Joan Hass. Kylie and Claire are designing and building a new website, with Michaela MacColl. All the interns are creating original content, reflecting their own interests under Marge Neuiwenhuis’ educator’s eye.
The tagline for “06880” is “Where Westport meets the world.” Sounds like a good one for Staples’ internship program too.
Sam Zuckerman knew this was the national flag of Comoros.
Staples High School’s Internship Program is a win-win-win.
Every spring, talented and eager seniors leave school 4 weeks before graduation. They spend the final month out in the real world.
They work everywhere: retail stores, salons, restaurants, non-profits, medical offices, financial firms, design shops, farms, marketing companies, photography studios, publishers … you name it. If there’s a job to be learned and done, they do it.
(And not just in Westport. Interns head to New York City — even beyond.)
During their internship with a builder of energy-efficient luxury homes, Josh Berman and Teddy Lawrence worked on spreadsheets and handled social media. They also did lots of manual labor.
The work and real life experience they gain is invaluable. The energy, creativity — and help — they bring to the workplace is huge. And the internships get them out of high school at a time when senioritis would otherwise kick in (that’s the third “win”).
But as hard as they work, the program coordinators work equally hard right now arranging 450 or so internships.
So they’re asking the greater “06880” community: Can you help?
Do you need a senior (or two, or three) for daily onsite (or remote) work? Perhaps you’re beefing up your social media presence. Or looking for research help, design work, web content, data entry. Or hundreds of other tasks.
Colin McKechnie and Hallie Lavin capped their internship with a caterer by throwing a delicious party.
You can be a small, medium or large size firm– or a single proprietor. Maybe you were an intern once yourself, and want to give back.
Internships begins May 17. Students are expected to work 5 hours a day for 3-4 weeks, onsite, remotely or in a hybrid model. Program leaders provide guidance and oversight.
If interested, or to learn more, email program directors Michelle Howard and Denise Pearl: shsinternship@westportps.org.
Alice Sardinian with a young patient at a pediatrician’s office.
When then-Staples High School principal John Dodig proposed a springtime Senior Internship program more than a decade ago, many people were wary.
Teachers did not want to “lose” students. Students did not want to “work” in the middle of senior slump. And what businesses, everyone wondered, would want to hire slumping seniors during beautiful May weather?
All those worries were unfounded. As the Senior Internship grew, teachers realized the benefits in having slumping students out of their classes. Students were energized by having real jobs and real responsibilities before heading to college. All kinds of businesses — retail stores, ad agencies, financial service firms, restaurants, tech companies, theaters, engineering companies, non-profits, media firms, medical offices, farms, schools, you name it — saw the value in interns.
From modest beginnings, Staples’ program exploded. Now, nearly every senior eligible — those without attendance or grade issues — participates. It’s one of the most popular, highly anticipated parts of the entire high school experience.
From a wealth management firm …
So what happens when a pandemic shuts school — along with nearly every business that already committed to having an intern?
Fortunately, not much. Despite all the uncertainty of the past few weeks, Staples’ program is on track to begin later this month.
Internship coordinators Michelle Howard and Denise Pearl had spent months preparing for this spring. Beginning in September they’d contacted the more than 400 sites in their database.
They’d met individually with 450-plus seniors, describing options and opportunities. (About 100 seniors design their own internships each year.)
… to Wakeman Town Farm …
In mid-March, everyone was looking ahead. Internships would begin as soon as AP tests ended. Students would spend 5 hours a day for 4 weeks at their sites. They’d write weekly self-reflections, and check in regularly with faculty mentors. The “real world” was about to begin.
Then the real “real world” intruded. COVID-19 upended everything.
For a couple of weeks, Howard and Pearl wondered how to salvage the program. As they fielded questions from students and sites, they realized many people wanted it to continue, in whatever ways were feasible.
The directors spoke with Staples senior class assistant principal Meghan Ward. Soon, the idea of “remote internships” took place.
… to a catering company …
Though some sites were closed, and others not conducive to working with interns, many were. Attorneys, shop owners, graphic designers, hedge fund managers — they said, “we’ll make it work.” Through teleconferences, creative ideas and other experiences, they vowed to give their interns valuable life experiences.
For example, a preschool said their intern could create an online “graduation ceremony” for their tots. The Senior Center said they’d like their intern to devise a “virtual tour” of the artwork on its walls. A realtor wants help with social media.
Even New York’s Museum of Natural History promised to keep its intern on.
“They’re all really going above and beyond,” Howard says admiringly.
… to a builder of energy-efficient luxury homes …
Of course, not every site is able to accommodate its interns. So Pearl and Howard came up with 2 other concepts.
One is a “Do It Yourself Experience.”
“Get creative,” they say. “Design and develop a project from beginning to end.” For example, seniors could:
Create a business that could help the world recover from COVID-19
Write a book (poetry, short stories, children’s) about this crisis
Paint, draw, take photos, or produce a video about it
Build or construct something
Read extensively, and share what they learned
Research, or talk to experts on a subject like traditional school vs. distance learning; the emotional toll of isolation, or the effects of the coronavirus on an industry, or on social media.
The other option is an interview series, with at least 3 people. Students can then make a video, blog or podcast on subjects like careers, multi-generational voices, education, or any topic of their choice.
“It’s not the Senior Internship in its usual form,” Pearl admits. “But these are not usual times.”
The Class of 2020 has lost a lot: prom. Graduation. Even senioritis.
But they won’t lost their internships.
… and Harbor Watch, the Staples Internship Program is a highlight of senior year.
“I’m really proud of this program — and these kids,” Howard says.
“It’s a great experience being around 400-plus teenagers. It’s terrific working with the sites. We’ve made some great relationships.
“And those that can’t host interns remotely, they all say they want to be part of it next year.”
NOTE: Any business or individual interested in sponsoring an intern should email shsinternship@westportps.org as soon as possible.
This is not a 2020 photo. For many years, Staples interns have worked at hospitals, medical clinics and doctors’ offices.
Once upon a time, Staples High School 12th graders marked the month before graduation with boredom, pranks and trouble-making.
Now they build homes and websites. They help bakers make cakes, and bankers make money. They work in corporate offices, on sustainable farms, in recording studios and dance studios.
They use the math, writing, analytical, computer and common sense skills they’ve honed during a dozen years of school. For perhaps the first time in their lives they solve real-world problems with bosses, colleagues and clients.
They learn how to communicate — and how to commute.
On Friday, over 400 Staples seniors completed their 5-week internships. They work hard, at real work. They learn a lot, met new people, and (for the most part) had fun. Many call the program one of the most valuable experiences in their entire school careers.
On Thursday, they graduate.
Thanks to their teachers, administrators, coaches, club advisors and counselors — and their Staples Senior Internship — they’re as ready for the real world as they can be.
Colin McKechnie and Hallie Lavin capped their internship at the Weiser Kitchen by preparing and hosting a delicious party.
Claudia Lagnese does environmental work at Harbor Watch.
Alice Sardarian with a young patient at Village Pediatrics.
During their internship at Oliving Experience — a builder of energy-efficient luxury homes — Josh Berman and Teddy Lawrence worked on spreadsheets and handled social media. They also did lots of manual labor.
Faiza Qureshi gets into position at Kaia Yoga.
Becky Hoving and Jillian Stefani get into the mood for the Long Lots School field day.
When 400-plus seniors earn diplomas at today’s Staples graduation they’ll smile, whoop, and feel good about reaching an important milestone in life.
But 286 of them will walk especially tall.
Moving far outside their comfort zones, they spent the final 4 weeks of senior year — a time traditionally reserved for chilling out, planning pranks and being bored — getting a taste of the real world.
They moved far beyond Staples, working at scores of sites through the school’s innovative internship program.
And “work” is the operative word.
Two students interned at the Norwalk Hour. They performed mind-numbing but necessary journalistic tasks like rewriting press releases and compiling calendars. But they also did hands-on work: interviewing victims of tragedies, devising story ideas, writing articles for Page 1.
One girl asked for an internship at a funeral home. She watched an embalming and dressing; set up a room and flowers for a visitation; wrote an obituary; picked up a body from a morgue — and learned Quickbook accounting.
Larry Abel interned at Boccanfuso Brothers.
Some students worked at elementary and middle schools. They immediately grasped the difference between sitting at desks, and standing in front of them. They dealt with kids who didn’t want to learn, kids disrupting the cafeteria, kids having a tough time in gym. The Staples interns — “kids” themselves a few days earlier — became adults very quickly.
Several students got a taste of financial services — in Fairfield County, and New York. One day they were hanging out in high school; the next they were on a train, heading for a high-powered office surrounded by men and women working 14-hour days and earning 7-figure salaries.
The salutatorian interned at the Town School Office. At first, administrators were unsure how to use him. But he wowed them by creating graphs, charts and analyses in areas like electric consumption. Then he worked on a residency guideline project. Each morning he walked through the office asking for work. Employees eagerly gave him plenty.
The list of sites is long and intriguing: Aldrich Art Museum. Barcelona Wine Bar. Beardsley Zoo. Bridgeport Hospital. Bridgeport Police Department. Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Christ & Holy Trinity Church. Connecticut Humane Society. Cox Radio. Cycle Dynamics. Daybreak Nursery. Discovery Museum. Earthplace. Fairfield Theatre Company. Fairfield Veterinary Hospital. Gault. Land-Tech Consultants. Levitt Pavilion. Linda McMahon for Senate. Ned Lamont for Governor. Peter Coppola. Saugatuck Harbor Yacht Club. Save the Children. Sport Hill Farm. Tauck World Discovery. Terex. Uppityshirts. Voices of September 11. Westport Country Playhouse. Westport Public Library. Yumnuts.
Students gave in-store demonstrations, created websites, farmed, and did thousands of other tasks. They gained new knowledge, learned new skills — and occasionally taught what they knew to supervisors (and at least once to an even-newer college intern).
The 286 interns did not accomplish everything on their own, of course. Over 100 faculty supervisors made sure they stayed on track (and worked the requisite 100 hours). Supervisors also received weekly “reflections” from the interns, who wrote about everything from understanding office decorum to earning a nameplate on their very own cubicle.
The 100-plus site directors also played a key role.
But none of it would have been possible without the vision of principal John Dodig — who devised the idea 5 years ago, then spent 2 years selling it to an at-times-dubious faculty — and the yeowomanlike work of Joyce Eldh. “Internship director” is a part-time job, with full-time responsibilities. It’s a tribute to Staples — and all educators in town — that an idea like the internship can become not only a reality, but a huge success.
Most learning, the cliche goes, takes place outside the classroom. For 12 1/2 years, Westport prepares students inside its classrooms well.
Finally, the familiar doors fling open. Hundreds of students head toward new, unknown doors. They have no idea what’s behind them.
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