CAVA Students Take the Gold at State SkillsUSA Competition
California Virtual Academy (CAVA) students met together in-person for the first time this spring at the State SkillsUSA competition in Ontario. The CAVA chapter was recognized at this year’s conference as a Bronze Level Chapter of Excellence, with multiple students receiving awards.
Students had the opportunity to speak with SkillsUSA CEO, Chelle Travis, advocating for more virtual chapter options for students around the state. California SkillsUSA board members connected with chapter members and advisors, applauding CAVA students for “proving a virtual CTSO (Career and Technical Student Organization) experience can work,” and motivating them to continue striving for excellence. The board is currently working hard to change legislation surrounding CTSO’s availability to virtual students.
Many SkillsUSA members applied for and were selected to receive CTSO grants, 10 of which were given out by Stride, Inc. Over $2700 was granted to four CAVA students and one advisor. Additionally, an 11th-grade student from CAVA, Emma S., Earned a gold medal in her 20-Second Elevator Pitch competition, which was an incredible achievement that afforded CAVA more recognition as a chapter.
“This student team and these student leaders have been working relentlessly to do all the things to get our chapter all the recognition it deserves and to prove that operating in a virtual space is only limited by what you allow to be the limit,” says Madonna Johnson, CAVA Career and Technical Education Program Coordinator
CAVA students are already planning to attend the state competition next year, with an even larger group of students, looking forward to the opportunity to provide leadership experiences to online students now and in the future.
To learn more about California Virtual Academy, visit https://cava.k12.com/.
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Search Online For Internships
It’s 2022 and our lives are dominated by technology, so this one you probably could have guessed as an option. If you’re hoping to land an internship, the obvious place to start first is online. There are many internship search sites that will get you started in your quest to gain the perfect opportunity. Stride’s Internship Search Tool is an amazing and user-friendly option for students looking to begin the search. Start by entering the job title, career field, or even the skill you’re looking for in professional development. Then, you can key in the city, state, or zip code for where you’d like to intern (or you can choose to search for positions that are entirely remote). And, finally you can click “search internships.” That’s it! There are 6,687 opportunities on Stride’s Internship Search Tool at the time of this publication, with new opportunities being added daily!
Tallo and LinkedIn are also great places to search for internships. In addition to these useful tools, there are many others you can use that function in a similar way. Just do a google search for “high school internships” and explore the results.
Ask Around For Local Internships
In the career world, we call this networking. Ask your parents, friends’ parents, neighbors, or anyone you know who is currently exploring a career field you’re interested in, to see if opportunities are available at their place of employment. Schedule a meeting with your school counselor, career center contact, or success coach and see what offerings they may be able provide as connections. These resources may offer a bonus of reviewing and polishing your resume, which you will definitely need to do when applying for an internship.
Create Your Own Internship Connections And Opportunities
If you have tried searching online and seeking internships within your local network, but are still not finding relevant opportunities, then be brave and take your internship search to the next level. Begin asking companies directly. Say, for instance, you are seeking a career mechanical engineering. Check the companies near you that specialize in this field and give them a call. Introduce yourself, state your career interests, and confidently ask if there are any job shadowing, volunteer, or internship opportunities available for high school students. I have tried this trick with my students and have had overwhelmingly positive results. The company might ask when you are looking to begin your job shadowing, volunteer, or internship experience and advise you of their offerings. Or, they may take down your name and telephone number to have you contacted by someone who can set up this opportunity.
Notice I included the words “job shadow” and “volunteer” in the example. This is because while you may start off shadowing (observing others doing a job to get a feel for a day in the life of that career) or volunteering (offering your support to an organization while also learning important parts of the job), you can easily turn this into an internship, too, if you show interest and work well. Whatever the outcome of your calls, ensure that you get a name and email, so that you can follow up to either thank the company for allowing you to intern or to reach back out to check the status of an opportunity.
Make no mistake, internships are a sure way to add great experience to your resume, boost your college application prospects, and expose you to the workforce. If you are serious about finding a career you love, and positioning yourself as a valuable asset to companies, don’t delay… start your internship search today!
If you are uncertain about future career choices and feel like you need help in Finding Your Path, then career success coaching may be for you!
And, be sure to check out the article, How To Optimize Your High School Years For Career Readiness, to learn even more from a Stride Success Coach!
Want to take experiential learning to the next level? Then be sure to visit the Stride Internship Search Tool, to expand your knowledge and skills for better career prep and development: https://www.stridelearning.com/career-prep/internships.html
To learn more about Stride Career Prep Success Coaching for teens and what it offers, be sure to visit this site: https://www.stridelearning.com/career-prep/career-exploration/student-success-coaching.html
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