Internships give Northern Valley teens real-world experience

The Career Exploration and Applied Learning Academy, or CEAL academy, run through the Northern Susitna Institute has just wrapped up its first round of internship placements for high school students and home-schoolers in Talkeetna. KTNA’s Lorien Nettleton has more

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CEAL Academy Coordinator Erin Aulman says CEAL Academy aims to offer local teens a chance to get hands-on experience in n occupational setting.

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Interns get school credit, and if they complete a 60-hour internship they can qualify to receive a stipend to make an internship as appealing as a summer job. Many high schoolers and homeschoolers in the area look for summer work, and Aulman says the interns get a better experience than most jobs can offer, whether it confirms for the intern that their interests match, or if they discover that the line of work they’d been thinking about isn’t for them after-all

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Hannah Starbuck just completed 62 hours interning with Dr. Jennifer Peronis of Golden Pond Veterinary services. Starbuck has been interested in veterinary work for many years, and she says the chance to get hands-on experience in a lab setting working with animals helped her confirm that it is something she wants to pursue.

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Starbuck is a graduating senior, and she plans to get early college requirements taken care of at Mat Su College before transferring to the new Veterinary program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She says the internship taught her more than she would have learned in any book.

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The CEAL academy is getting ready to start a new round of internships fro the Spring and Summer, although no dates have yet been announced.