By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The second year of Great Bend High School's Internship Program is in full swing. ACT and Career Coordinator Lacy Wolters presented an update to the USD 428 Board of Education during a luncheon at the high school last Thursday. There are 25 seniors participating this year, with 18 of those internships taking place this fall. The program had 14 participants last year.
"We're really excited with the growth and the business partnerships," Wolters said. "We've been really proud of our students, especially with that first year. Every business partner came back to participate a second year so I think that really speaks to the students we sent out."
Nineteen of the 25 internships involve the biomedical pathway. Other fields this year include construction, business finance, manufacturing, and teaching. Senior Emilee Hall completed her CNA as a junior and is interning this fall at the University of Kansas Health System - Great Bend Campus.
"I started with pharmacy and got to see an in-hospital pharmacy and see how they help every different aspect of it," she told the board. "Then I moved on to pre- and post-op. I actually got to go into the OR and got to watch a toe be amputated. It's pretty shocking."
Interns spend 60-80 minutes a day, Monday through Thursday, outside of the classroom, then meet with other interns each Friday to review the week. Hall, a three-sport varsity athlete at GBHS, is finishing up prerequisites for nursing school and plans to apply to nursing school in January.