Posts Tagged "internships"
Student Reflections From Summer Internship
September 24, 2025
My name is Eli Coburn and I am a Junior here at CHS. This past summer I had the opportunity to have a summer internship set up through our CHS Academic and College Counseling office at Medtronic. Medtronic is a global healthcare technology company that develops, manufactures, and distributes medical devices and therapies that is located in North Haven, CT.
During my internship at Medtronic, there were several challenges that I faced and different moments that taught me different traits about myself. I gained valuable exposure to working in a corporate setting, working on a team within a larger company, and more specific insights into the biomedical field.
Throughout my internship, because the safety training would have taken up a significant portion of my time, I was not able to do as much hands-on work as I was expecting and hoping for the various tests that were being conducted at Medtronic. I did a lot of observing and asking questions rather than active work. It was still very interesting and educational to see how the tests were conducted and to have my questions answered about the reason and function of the tests.
I was able to find ways to be helpful during various tests, especially one where another intern was dissecting arteries from sets of kidneys. I helped with the measuring and storing of the arteries, and it felt good to be able to help. I found my desire to be of assistance and my willingness to be flexible and adjustable to different tasks very useful during this internship. I think that these traits will be useful for me during my career, as well as eventually taking charge and doing more myself.
Secondly, as silly as it sounds, going to several meetings across the two weeks was very helpful for me. It was good for me to get some exposure to corporate life, which I’ve learned involves many meetings! Wherever I end up in the future, it is likely that I will have to go to meetings, so getting some early experience with them was very rewarding for me.
Throughout the internship, getting exposure to different aspects of having a job was one of the most rewarding parts of the summer seminar. In one of the team meetings that I attended, one of my colleagues was explaining to the team how she had been assigned to a project with very little prior information. There were several very expensive pieces of equipment with little records about them, no labels, and the person who had worked with this equipment previously had left the company. This showed me the importance of communication and documenting your research, as this project was lacking them and therefore very difficult to complete. It is very important to document what you do so that you or others can go back and look at your research at a later point. Good communication is crucial for a functioning company, as demonstrated here.
Although different from what I was expecting, the internship this past summer was a great experience for me. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to gain this experience and this exposure to work life. It has helped me a lot when thinking about my future and what type of job and field I may be interested in the future. I had a lot of fun and am very glad that I decided to do the summer seminar internship program offered through our Academic and College Counseling office this year.
Junior/Senior Summer Internships Give Hands-On Vocational Experience
October 15, 2024
This past summer, a cohort of rising juniors and seniors set off to internships across the state as part of our summer internship program, “Summer Seminar”. This unique opportunity allowed students to gain valuable skills and experience through hands-on learning and career exploration. Accumulating over forty on-site experience hours, students worked alongside professionals in various fields while earning 0.5 credits toward their academic portfolio.
Summer internships provide numerous benefits, such as the opportunity to develop essential skills, expand networks, and gain firsthand knowledge of potential career paths. But we believe that, at Christian Heritage School, our students pursue career curiosity not just for these benefits but because they are responding to God’s call on their lives. They are testing, wrestling, and pressing into what our loving Father could call them to next.
To receive credit for Summer Seminar, students had to complete several assignments, the last of which was a reflection paper. Our students served and learned in science labs, hospitals, veterinary clinics, robotic engineering design labs, and educational settings (to name a few!). It is clear from their feedback that they made the most of the opportunity presented to them:
"The “mouse room” unexpectedly became an experience that bridged my personal values with my professional aspirations. It allowed me to develop the critical skills for dealing with these animals while simultaneously giving me a newfound appreciation for the lab rat."
"I was so used to being in school and having strict instructions that when I had a lot of freedom with my work, it was a challenge to do a good job. This project not only taught me marketing skills, but it also taught me perseverance and how to do a good job with lots of freedom."
"I was really grateful for this experience in a healthcare environment. I was able to gain first-hand exposure to this field where I otherwise would not have been able to. I was also able to network and connect with physicians and other employers to build valuable relationships. Lastly, I was fortunate enough to learn new skills such as learning how to work with others on a team and interacting with patients."
"This experience, though small, has contributed to my personal and professional growth in that it has given me more confidence to help struggling children by teaching them what I know in a way that is hopefully clear to understand. My success in teaching the little girl has also given me the motivation to pursue more knowledge and methods to be able to teach children more effectively. My goal is to find more methods and resources that will help me in my endeavor of teaching and explaining educational concepts. "
"In essence, this internship made my life more clear to me. It brought me so much clarity on what I want and what I don't want for my future, and I am very thankful for it. This experience contributed both to my personal and professional growth because it taught me so many things I did not know before and that could be useful for the future, like entrepreneurship and marketing. But it also gave me an idea of what I want my career to look like. Now that I know what I want and where I want to go, I can focus on everything I need to do to get there."
Summer Seminar is just one way we offer resources to our students as they face the big question of, “Now What!?”
One reassurance we give our students is that this is not something they need to figure out alone. We partner with them and their families, and we are privileged to have outstanding professionals in the CHS community share their wisdom and expertise with our students. This past summer, Mrs. Evelyn Hayes, Mr. Trevor Delmore, and Mr. Bruce Stempien presented to our Summer Seminar cohort over lunch meetings, and various professionals from our community attended our one-semester course, Life Calling to offer their guidance to our juniors.
In his lecture series Teaching for Tomorrow Today (1984), Nicholas Wolterstorff argues that “the Christian way of being in the world is a life of responsible, worshipful, and appreciative gratitude.” As our students walk through high school, our College and Career Program guides students through an intentional journey of discovering who God has created them to be and responding to it with praise and thanksgiving.
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What a gift it is to see our students (some of whom have been with us since kindergarten!) continue to grow into the young men and women God has made them to be. Our prayer is that their ultimate vocation will be lived out as an act of gratitude and praise to the One who made them.
Beth Maree is our Upper School Academic and College Counselor. Beth Maree received a Bachelors of Education at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. She majored in English, History and Special Education. She began her career teaching 4th Grade and then discovered her love for teenagers when she transitioned to High School English teacher. Mrs. Maree is also experienced in school leadership, leading an English Department, overseeing Student Academic Services, and finally serving on the Senior Leadership Team of a busy, all-girls school in South Africa. She is now the Academic and College Counselor at Christian Heritage School and loving every minute of it!