High School Internships
A New Program
In Summer 2022, Lynchburg Beacon of Hope piloted a unique high school career exploration internship for 34 rising juniors and seniors attending the City’s two public high schools. This program partnered with 13 different Lynchburg-based employers, from our largest employer, Centra health, to some of our smaller locally-based companies. Students underwent 20+ hours of training and preparation before entering the workforce and spent more than 80 hours experiencing careers in high-growth industries of our region.
The feedback from both students and employers was that the experience was highly effective in opening local students’ eyes to available career opportunities and building career pipelines for students in high-demand fields. This program will nearly double its size in summer 2023 based on student and employer demand.
The Program is divided into Three Modules:
Job Readiness Module
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Experiential On-site Module
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Conclusion and Reflection Module
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Job Readiness Module
The Job-Readiness Module is a one-week, 20-hour training module that will be held in 2023 at Central Virginia Community College.
All Stay Close, Go Far Summer Interns will participate in the Job Readiness Module as a cohort. Lynchburg Beacon of Hope, IRON Lives, and the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance will partner to create and deliver the Job Readiness Training Module.
Topics addressed will include:
Resume building workshop
Job Interview training and mock interviews
Mock Networking training
Workplace Professionalism
Communication within the workplace
General financial literacy, investing, credit, and student loans (Adulting 101)
Team building and team orientation in a professional workplace
Experiential On-Site Module
This Module will involve three weeks of an on-site experiential internship opportunity at one of our Stay Close, Go Far business partners. Students are placed at some 25 sites in 2023, including Centra Health, Free Clinic of Lynchburg, Fleet, US Pipe, Moore and Giles, Southern Air, Delta Star, The Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, Academy Center of the Arts, and others.
Students report to their internship sites M-Th, for 4 hours each day for a total of 16 hours per week, or 48-total hours. Hours may vary based on site and student availability and preference. Students will be matched with an internship site that meets their interests and availability.
Conclusion and Reflection Module
This Module will take place on three Fridays during the one-month Internship Program. Attendance is required from 10 am until 1 pm each day. Students will meet as a cohort with Beacon of Hope and IRON LIVES staff to reflect on their workplace experiences, to share information and lessons learned with their peers, and to engage in meaningful growth and conversation.
