CRISTA Internships: Setting up Students for Success Beyond the Classroom

It’s not often you hear of high school students interning in roles that provide them with real-world experience. In recent years, King’s Schools and CRISTA Ministries has made it a point to offer internships that allow students to discover their passions in order to further the mission of inspiring hearts and equipping minds. We sat down with Corrine Nield, Academic Dean of Students, to discuss the amazing opportunities offered through King’s internships.

How long have CRISTA and King’s Schools partnered to offer student internships?

The internship program began in 2013 with three students piloting its first year. Since then, King’s Schools has had multiple student interns in many different ministries. For the 2018-2019 school year, there are now ten student interns.

What ministries can students intern for?

In the past five years, interns have gotten experience working with World Concern, CRISTA Marketing and Events, Elementary Education, Law and Corporate Affairs, the President’s office, Video Production, Graphic Design and CRISTA Media’s radio station, Spirit 105.3. King’s High School also offers two other internships. One that includes technology support for the Elementary, Jr. High and High School and another that is focused on instructional assistance where students can work in high school classrooms to support teacher content and assist in student learning.

What tasks do students complete during their internship?

When each student’s internship begins, they are given a One Note to set goals to achieve over the course of the semester, they complete weekly reflections, a career interest survey, specific projects pertaining to their ministry, and at the end of the semester, each intern will submit an evaluation of their experience. This feedback allows both the school and the interning department to continually develop the program each year in order to help students develop skills that are informative as they explore what careers may interest them.

During the semester-long internship, students will also attend three “Brown Bag” lunches where CRISTA Marketing professionals provide conversation topics on the many different aspects of business. This is a time where student interns can hear real-world experiences from professionals in their fields of interest.

What does the typical CRISTA internship entail?

Every intern’s experience is different! That is the beauty of project-based learning through internships.  Before offering certain internships, each ministry and department is vetted to ensure that there is enough opportunity for student interns. We want to be sure that these students are having true professional opportunities in order for them to begin to discover their likes and dislikes of certain industries. For example, we don’t want the interns in Elementary Education just correcting papers and completing other mundane, tedious tasks. The interns are working alongside students and teachers, learning and preforming Elementary practices. This first-handedly shows them what it’s like to be a professional in that particular field.

What are the benefits to a CRISTA internship and how are they preparing students for life after graduation?

High school internships can provide so much insight to future career paths. Through offering these internships, students may begin to discover what their skills are and how they may be utilized in the workplace. This is a rare thing in high school – to learn skills in the classroom and then put them to use in a professional setting. Some students don’t get this chance until later in their college years!

Our internships allow students the opportunity to see how their gifts and callings might fit into a specific industry. There is value in both finding an outlet for your passions as well as discovering that a specific line of work may not be of interest to you.