WESTBROOK – Liz Torrey and Ryan Pitas start their day out like many people. They wake up early, grab a cup of coffee and head to work – but Torrey and Pitas are still in high school, interning at local businesses to get a jumpstart on their future career paths.
They are two of the nine seniors at Westbrook High School involved in an internship pilot program spearheaded by Principal Jonathan Ross.
“I’d love for everyone to graduate with a transcript and a solid resume. We can do something right now to help with their futures. Graduating with a high school diploma is not what it used to be,” Ross said.
He said more high school students are aware having a four-year degree can help them make more money throughout their lifetime, but aren’t aware of what jobs are actually out there.
“It seems now we grow up at 22 to 24,” said Ross. “In the past you grew up at 18. Now the conversation we’re having is, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Many have a sense of what makes them happy and the kinds of areas they might be interested in. This offers them a chance to find out if it’s something they want to pursue. I can’t find a downside to it, even if they come out thinking, ‘OK, I know I don’t want to do that.’ At least they know before they pay to go to school for it.”
Ross spoke with the top 27 seniors at Westbrook, all with 93 percent averages or better, and asked them if they could do the second semester of their senior year differently from the first, would they and how.
“What if the second semester was designed more toward what they wanted to do? Everyone thought it was a good idea,” Ross said.
Instead of having to take electives and extra classes as time fillers, Ross offered them a chance at real-world experience. Other students are taking part in the school’s “early to college” program. Many are looking past traditional high school experiences.
“I feel like at this point those high school classes were in the way of other things I wanted to do,” Torrey said.
Torrey has parlayed her work on the WLOB news talk radio show hosted by Ray Richardson into another internship at the State House, working for the governor’s office, after she was sent on assignment to do a story in Augusta.
The busy senior, who is also a member of the National Honor Society and serves as one of the two student representatives on the City Council, said she’s not sure how the two internships will work out, but she’ll find a way.
Richardson, of Westbrook, met Torrey when she came to the radio station to help promote a Wreaths Across America event in December 2012.
“Liz was one of the people in the Leadership Class [that promoted the event]. When she came in she just had this spark about her,” said Richardson. “She was here talking and I was so impressed. When she told me she was interested in doing something in communications I said, ‘Why not come in and do an internship here.’”
At the station, Torrey works the soundboard, posts recorded broadcasts to Facebook and Twitter, books guests on the show and even reports on stories.
She knows she wants to do something in communications and would like a career like “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, but her specific career path is still up in the air.
“I think doing an internship program your senior year is great. It gives you a different perspective. If I did come here [to the station] and decided I hated it, I’d save a lot of money not going to college for it,” she said.
Richardson said he’d love to keep her working at the station as long as she wanted.
Pitas’ supervisor at Lanco Assembly Systems, David S. Walden, said he hopes Pitas stays with the company.
“I’m trying to keep them both [Pitas and fellow Westbrook High School intern Eric Jensen] in Maine. If we keep them interested and he stays on this path, I hope he’d want to work here after he graduates,” Walden said.
At Lanco, Pitas works on the assembly room floor putting together machines and using problem-solving skills and his math and science classes to help build machines for the company’s clients.
The internship seems tailor-made for Pitas, who wants to be a mechanical engineer technician, which is different from a mechanical engineer, who works with designs. The technicians are the ones building the machines.
Pitas internship was set up through Ross, who approached Lanco with the program. Walden said they immediately jumped on the opportunity. Lanco has worked with many interns from Westbrook in the past, including an employee who interned in 1993 and is now a full-time employee.
Other students are interning in Westbrook and the surrounding areas are doing jobs like leatherwork, sound engineering and insurance work. Some students had internships set up by Ross and others found them on their own.
Pitas wasn’t guaranteed a spot working on the assembly room floor – he had to interview.
“Both Jon and I thought it was important for them to get the whole process,” Walden said.
For students participating in the internship program, some sacrifices had to be made to fit their jobs in with their school day. Many involved are taking Advanced Placement and honors classes to further prepare them for college. Some do their internship programs early in the morning or at night, but most do have to drop a few classes. For Torrey, the decision to drop band was difficult. Pitas got rid of two classes, as well, but still has a full plate with AP physics, honors pre-calculus and English. Both say the sacrifice is worth it for what they’re gaining.
“It’s really exciting to think about,” Pitas said.
He was fairly certain he wanted to purse engineering, but after the internship with Lanco he’s set that this will be his path.
Ross’ goal is to have half of the senior class in internship programs within the next three to five years.
So far, he hasn’t come across any problems, and businesses have been more than happy to open their doors to the program.
Allowing the alternative education also helps Ross shift some resources in the school. Students who are doing well and taking college classes or an internship program let teachers have more time to work with students who are struggling.
Ross served as the interim principal in 2011 and then joined the staff full time this year. He said in the past he’s worked with at-risk youth and helped them find internships.
Pitas is heading to the University of Southern Maine in the fall. He was accepted into the college, but not into the mechanical engineering program. Now that he has the internship he recently asked the college to take another look at his application. He should hear back by the end of the month. Torrey is also waiting to hear from a few colleges before she makes her final decision.
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