Real life experience off ered to students
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Shrewsbury - Students at Shrewsbury High School can sign up for a real-life work experience in the field of their choice, according to Career Counselor Susan McGuirk.

The Advanced Career Exploration (ACE) internship program runs every spring.

"It's a perfect opportunity for them to get a real-life experience being treated as an equal and a professional while helping the students on their career decision making path," McGuirk said.

Students can participate in an internship in any field of their choice, and they are responsible for approaching businesses and setting up their own individual program.

They track down internship openings, fill out applications and interview with McGuirk, mimicking the job-hunting process they will face as adults in the work force.

The students work in real life positions for 25 to 30 hours per week over a fiveweek period, at the end of which they are responsible for providing McGuirk a daily journal, a complete portfolio with resume cover letter and body of work, as well as a final reflection essay.

The program is open to anyone with a "C" average or better. Right now, McGuirk said, anywhere from 25 to 30 students take advantage of the ACE program each year, and have been placed in businesses ranging from hair salons to yoga studios to banks to recording studios.

McGuirk said most businesses are happy to accommodate her students.

"They're thrilled to be able to foster interest in their field, especially in such a young person," she said.

McGuirk said the school has never received a negative review about a student in the program's four-year history, mostly because of the type of student who typically enters the program.

"It's a mix of students who are college-bound who might be confused about a major and students looking to go directly into the work force or are currently working that want to try their hand at a diff erent level of responsibility," McGuirk said. "They are motivated and driven, they know what they want, and they go out and get it."

In the past four years, there has only been one student who was denied entrance to the program. For the most part, McGuirk said the ACE program is open to anyone who is serious about getting the experience.

"We want students to do this and we'll do whatever we can to help them be successful," she said.