The REF Internship Program is an opportunity for rising juniors and seniors to gain experience and explore potential careers with local businesses. The program started in 2015 and has grown over the years. In 2018, 28 businesses and 46 interns participated and 5 students continued to work on a part-time basis during the school year.
Students apply for specific internships and interview with both the program managers as well as the internship manager. The internships range from 1 day of shadowing to 20 hours per week. While most internships are about 6 weeks and paid, that is not a requirement. Participating businesses have flexibility — start/end date, schedule, total hours, paid/not paid.
The program offers internships in a variety of fields — architecture, engineering, arts and entertainment, business, communications, computer science, environment, government, non profit, health and medicine. Some local businesses that participated include: Dames Design, Bryn Mawr Film Institute, Northwestern Mutual, Radnor Veterinary Hospital and Rad Robots.
For more information, please contact Heather Sheehan, Chair, Radnor Alumni Council at 610.975.5855 or hgsheehan@yahoo.com
Just a sampling of some of our 2018 interns and what they had to say!
Antonia Moffa – 2019 – DMAX
I appreciate this program, as it fosters involvement from community business owners in the lives of local high school students and vice versa, which I think is unique. I learned a lot of good skills at my internship, such as phone and email etiquette, time management, and public speaking. I also improved on my group collaboration skills and learned how to act in a professional working environment. Thank you for the opportunity!
Nick Camposano – 2019 – League of Women Voters and MAECI
I am so happy that I found the Internships Program. It set up opportunities that couldn’t be found anywhere else.
Andrew Dunkel – 2020 – Anchors Aweigh
The Internships program is really helpful for me and the other kids that were selected because it teaches you how to do things that you need to be able to do for a paying job. It teaches you to interview, work out a schedule, work out transportation and do the work that you’re expected to be doing.
Amia Korman – 2020 – Balanced Yoga
A great experience all around. I’m so grateful for this opportunity and all that the Internships Program has done for RHS students!
Baylee Huang – 2020- League of Women Voters
A great experience all around. I’m so grateful for this opportunity and all that the Internships Program has done for RHS students!
Morgan Wisehart – 2020 – Bryn Mawr Film Institute
One of the best things about this opportunity was the ability to interact with an office setting. My ideal career does involve that type of work environment so getting to experience that and talk to the employees in the business office was a great opportunity to not only see what it was like, but also see if that would be something I could do in the future.
Ryan Oliver – 2020 – BSD Code and Design Academy
Thank you so much for connecting me with BSD Code and providing me with this opportunity! I would not have known where to look for such an internship without your help!
Alex Bay – 2019 – Braithwaite Communications
I can’t stress enough how valuable it was to actually be in the workplace and work on the same things full-time employees work on instead of just learning things in class and doing assignments. This was a very positive experience for me.
We thank all of the local businesses that support the Radnor Educational Foundation Internship Program.
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