SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - With the intent to help students make informed choices to achieve their career goals, a national nonprofit organization is offering internship opportunities to high school students in the San Diego area.
Student Izzy Fitzgerald shared with ABC 10News how her experience taking part in the program has changed her life forever.
Izzy said she has always been ambitious but when thinking about her future, her reality made things a little more challenging. She grew up in a home she said didn't have a lot of money, which is one reason she never thought higher education could be in her future.
“I didn’t think I would be able to go to college past community college,” the 18-year-old said.
But in true Izzy fashion, she made the decision to embark on a journey, an internship program at her high school, and little did she know, the destination she was headed towards.
“And through these opportunities, I got to find out that maybe I don’t want to go into fashion design,” Izzy explained.
San Diego Met High School is one of 80 schools that practice big picture learning, an approach to education that combines academic work with real world learning. In collaboration with American Student Assistance, the high school offers internship opportunities.
“Internships in particular allow kids the opportunity to build their skills, understand their career activity, and start to build a social network,” said Julie Lammers, a representative of American Student Assistance.
The program opened the door to Izzy’s newfound passion.
“The best internship I had was definitely at the San Diego mayor's office, and after working there, I found a love for politics and sociology,” said Izzy.
The internship opportunity eventually became her full-time job.
“And that helped me a lot because through that job, I was able to buy my car and I started saving up for college and being able to afford it now,” Izzy added.
Confident and determined, Izzy is now getting ready to embark in her new journey at the University of San Francisco, as she pursues a career in sociology and political science — all thanks to her hands on experience in this program.
“My whole life changed because of that internship and San Diego Met High School,” said Izzy.
For more information regarding the available internship opportunities for high school students, visit https://www.b-unbound.org or https://sdmet.sandiegounified.org/about_us/big_picture_learning.
