With college constantly looming over high school students, many begin to think about what their future career might look like. Some students have had the luxury of knowing what they have wanted to do with their lives since they were young. While there is nothing wrong with going to college without a specific career choice in mind, some Milford High School seniors have already been training for their career that they are passionate about pursuing. Seniors Helena Wilson and Annabelle Stewart have thrown themselves into the workforce expecting to gain insight and experience that one could not gain by simply researching on the internet. Wilson participated in a career internship at Providence Park Hospital in Novi to get experience in nursing. Wilson’s drive to help others pulled her toward pursuing a  career in nursing. “I love learning about medicine and how it works. I also know how much nurses impacted my family when they were sick and I want to do the same for others,” she stated. This experience has aided Wilson in realizing the real-life aspects of nursing. “I chose to do this internship, so that I could be sure that working in the medical field is something I really wanted to do! And after seeing what nurses do during shifts, it made me excited to start my own career as one,” Wilson explained. This exposure to this intense job field has helped Wilson realize that nursing is something that she is passionate about and is what she would like to spend the rest of her life doing.

Stewart has been spending her time completing an internship at Milford Orthodontic Specialists in hopes of pursuing a career in orthodontics. Her motivation behind following this path stems from getting braces of her own. “When I first got braces, I was fascinated with the process that I went through. Ever since then, I have wanted to be an orthodontist and be able to give other people confidence in their smiles,” Stewart described. She has learned many valuable lessons from her internship. “With COVID, it has taught me that you have to be resilient and ready to face any situation to be an orthodontist. This is especially true because the American Association of Orthodontists has very specific guidelines that you now have to follow for COVID,” she stated. “It has also shown me the good, the bad, and the ugly of being an Orthodontist and in someone’s mouth. I’ve even had someone puke on me, so I know I have to be prepared for some less than great things in the future,” she continued. These non-glamorous aspects are extremely important for one to consider in any career field, Stewart is lucky because she is ahead of the game and is experiencing it before she begins her collegiate career. Though an internship of this caliber is difficult to balance with school and a teenage social life, Stewart believes for it to be worth it. “It definitely gave me an advantage. I now have connections in the Orthodontic world, and I also believe that this experience has influenced me getting into my dream school. I would definitely recommend that underclassmen interested in the dental world look for an internship,” she explained.

Coming from two different seniors that have participated in an internship in their prospective job fields, this experience is extremely beneficial for students that have a passion and might want to explore it before they are shelling out money at a university. It is clear that these students will make a great impact on our world due to their devotion to their future careers.