Internship Program at SPHS Heads into Spring Session

Andrea Fox heads up the internship program at SPHS and seeks interested juniors and seniors

PHOTO: SouthPasadenan.com | Intern Angela Zhang arranges a jewelry display at Retreat Lifestyle-Jewelry-Gifts shop on Mission Street

Deadline reminder from Andrea Fox at SPUSD –

Just a reminder that the deadline to apply for spring internships will be Monday, February 5, 2018 at 5 p.m. Please note that juniors and seniors who completed the two pre-requisite workshops are eligible for these internships.

We have many, wonderful opportunities available! Students must send a cover letter and resume to the internships that interest them. Eligible students have received a link to all the job descriptions.

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If you have any questions or are interested in participating, please contact me in the SPHS Counseling Center or at afox@spusd.net

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The SPHS Internship Program gives juniors and seniors the opportunity to explore careers and earn high school credit at the same time.  Through exclusive partnerships with local business, students will be given access to internships in a variety of fields.  Offering real-world experience, including a competitive job placement process, the internships offer opportunities to practice critical thinking, communication and problem solving skills.  All in all, the program is designed to further a student’s professional development and understanding of different careers.

The exciting internship program at South Pasadena High School is heading into its spring session and is currently seeking interested juniors and seniors to enter the program to potentially be placed with local businesses in February. The program follows the semesters with one in the fall, one in the spring and for those who are not aware, they also have a summer session which has become quite popular with local businesses.

Current SPHS juniors and seniors may contact Andrea Fox to jump on board. At this point the local participating businesses have gone through the application process, so this phase is about training the students afterwhich they will interview at the businesses they are interested in. The training days are scheduled for January 23 & 25, so there is still time to sign up.

PHOTO: SouthPasadenan.com | Andrea Fox is the director of the internship program at SPHS

Fox describes the training as “two pre-requisite workshops; the first one is job skills like communication, teamwork, networking and business etiquette and the second one is all about resumes, cover letters and interview skills. Once the students have completed those two workshops, then they are eligible to apply for the available internships.” The interns can expect to begin working by early February.

Angela Zhang, a junior at SPHS, interned at Retreat, an eclectic gift shop on Mission Street owned by Diane Staples, and says of the experience, “what I’ve enjoyed about interning here is that it’s like a job but with less pressure of it actually being a job so it’s an experience before the real thing. I thought that was awesome and I also enjoyed learning about all the interesting things that goes into what it takes to succeed in business like planning and organizing.” She says something that surprised her was “how much consideration you have to take into everything you do in a business in order to do well and succeed. That was super interesting to learn.”

PHOTO: SouthPasadenan.com | Retreat owner, Diane Staples, works on a window display with intern Angela Zhang

Says Staples, “I love mentoring and teaching people who have interest in what I do and relaying all the little quirks and things that happen when you run a store, sharing the creativity behind it. The people who applied knew they wanted to learn about the business and both Angela and Audrey (Cadena) were a great fit and it’s really fun for me to share my knowledge with young people.”

Fox tell us, “we have partnerships with about 35 businesses and organizations in the area and this is the second year of the program,” having started it last fall. She works closely with the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, South Pas Rotary, as well as her own contacts and research to reach out to businesses for the program. A new partner to the program is the Foothill Workforce Development Board who works with low income and foster youth and local businesses.

If you are interested in participating in this exciting program, contact Andrea Fox for more information and to sign up. If you are a business interested in the program contact Fox about how you can participate in the upcoming summer session.

For more information, contact Andrea Fox, Career Internship Specialist, afox@spusd.net or 626-390-2730 www.sphsinternships.weebly.com