Eden Prairie High School program gives seniors a head start on careers

The Senior Intern Program at Eden Prairie High School prepares students for the professional world by teaching networking and career skills.

The program has been running for more than 30 years and is open to all seniors. This year, more than 90 students participated. Next year, that number is expected to be over 100. The first semester of the school year is dedicated to learning vital skills, such as making a LinkedIn profile and crafting an elevator pitch. 

A binder for each student plays a key part in the class – a place to keep assignments and articles. More things, such as résumés and interview notes, get added as the semester rolls on, and by the end of the class, students’ binders become vital tools that showcase their work. Most students bring this binder with them to college and look back on it before an interview or job fair.

In the school year’s second semester, seniors have to accumulate 50 “intern hours.” Some students shadow professionals in a career field, while others get an internship at a local company. The most popular way to get intern hours is to work with the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce in its high school internship program. Besides participating in chamber events, students also work with mentors. 

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Another way to obtain the hours is to do interviews. During the first semester of the class, students are required to do three interviews to learn about working in a field that interests them. Mark Anderson and Rachel Hari, who teach the program, are available to help connect students with professionals, but most students find someone through LinkedIn.

Students also participate in a variety of activities to enhance networking abilities. They start with the basics – learning a proper handshake and how to write a thank-you note. They build on that during informational interviews and field trips to companies such as General Mills and Optum and through work with mentors.

“My inspiration to teach this program is wanting to make sure these students are the most prepared for a professional life after EPHS,” Anderson said. “It’s so important for people to understand how to navigate the professional world, regardless of what kind of career they have.

“The Senior Intern Program is for motivated students who want to get a leg up on their peers after high school. It provides professional learning opportunities for students to help them figure out who they are.”

The skills and variety of careers to explore are important, said Hari. “Every single industry and career path is accepted here,” she said. “That’s what’s so special about the program, because you need networking and professionalism wherever you go.”

Senior Celia Skubic will be a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston in the fall. “I’m a huge advocate for passion projects and case studies, rather than a strict curriculum,” she said. “I was excited to have the opportunity to work on whatever I wanted and have it count towards my future career.”

The program emphasizes résumé construction. Students work on their résumés for weeks, and they are extensively peer-reviewed before being graded.

That makes for pretty well-done résumés. Skubic said she is “absolutely confident in it now.”

Senior Gabby Edwards, who will be a freshman at Loyola University Chicago in the fall, said, “From the résumé-building to the mock interviews, I feel completely prepared to take on the job-application process.” 

Highlights of the curriculum are field trips to Minnesota businesses. Students visit Target headquarters, Optum, C.H. Robinson and more. They learn about company culture, listen to a panel of company speakers and take a tour. Edwards said, “My favorite part of the Senior Intern Program was the Target HQ site visit. Our teachers set up a panel of all EPHS graduates who work at Target HQ. I was so inspired by how successful they all are.”

Understandably, Edwards and Skubic are big advocates of the program. “The professional experiences were invaluable. I made so many connections with marketing and management professionals,” Edwards said.

Skubic added, “The skills we learned will remain useful for the rest of our lives. This program is beneficial to everyone; some students need to learn how to be presentable and how to land a job, whereas others need practice to refine their skills.” 

The program is open to any senior at Eden Prairie High School. Interested students may register during spring of their junior year.

Editor’s note: Caroline Nave, a senior at Eden Prairie High School, served as a student intern at Eden Prairie Local News during the spring semester through the school’s Senior Intern Program.