Every spring, Bishop Hendricken seniors head out into the community to intern with businesses, schools, organizations, and government agencies for the ten Mondays leading up to graduation. The program is designed to expose soon-to-be-graduates to careers and professions of interest to gain real-world, hands-on experience outside of the classroom.
Here are some reflections from this year’s Senior Field Experience:
“For my first day, my boss and I visited a site in western Massachusetts. The site, Berry Global, was a subject of one of the consulting group’s case studies. Berry Global manufactures plastic products such as containers for shampoos, makeup, etc. On our trip up, my supervisor explained the different functions and uses of the engineering degree I’m aiming to acquire and how he uses his skills as an owner of QGM. While at the site, we tracked the piping systems that the case study focused on, and I learned how the data is collected so it can be used for those studies.”
“J.F. Brennan’s mission statement is ‘to create and execute innovative solutions to the world’s most complex maritime, environmental, and infrastructure challenges.’
I think it’s a pretty clear-cut mission and presents the goal of their company sufficiently.”
“I would say the structure is fairly simple. There are two managers who keep track of produce orders, regulations, customer feedback, and more. Then, there’s workers who stick to their assigned jobs. The managers usually keep them on-track, but are still engaging with them to ensures they are happy and satisfied with their roles. Then, most of the finances are taken care of by the managers or with an external accountant.”
“It has been much more personal and intimate than I imagined. Instead of coming in, doing your business, and leaving, there is a clear connection between client and trainer. As employees, we have to stay after work every other week and come back at 8pm for group sessions. I see the connection between employee and customer through long conversations, staying after sessions to talk, and terms of comfort used towards one another. Sweating and working will cause you to form a bond.”
“I would change the classroom seating into a ‘U’ shape because the students would have more room to sit. Also, the students should be in the middle of the classroom because the students in the back would not have trouble seeing the board. I would also like to model the Options Program and provide the students with peer mentors to help each other. It would help them with their schoolwork and have a new friend.”
“On my first day, I met with Aaron Mackisey, Mayor Frank J. Picozzi’s Chief of Staff. Aaron helped me set up a senior experience opportunity in engineering with the City of Warwick. For the first day, I worked at city hall and talked to all the employees in the Mayor’s Office, learning about local government and how it functions. Aaron helped me plan out a schedule, as I have been rotating between the local planning office and the department of public works every other week.”
“They wear similar dress to us: men wear dress shirts with belts and khakis, and sometimes even jeans, with regular athletic shoes. No ties or blazers unless there’s an important meeting that day. They told me that if you look presentable, and we get our work done, that’s all that matters.”
“On my first day, I met with Mr. Osmani and discussed the basics of finance and business. We talked for about an hour before I started to observe some of the employees in the office. I saw some of the ways they manage profiles and what their workspaces looked like. After, I went to a business lunch which is what people in the industry commonly do to build connections and discuss deals. During my first day, I learned that building relationships is the most important part of becoming successful.”
“My first day at the State House started with a tour. After, I was brought to Henry Kinch’s [Executive Director of the Joint Legislative Services Committee] office where I sat in for two meetings. During these meetings, some topics of discussion included supplies needed for different spaces and the automated gate in the upper parking lot of the property. It was important to make sure only certain employees could be parking in the upper lot, such as the Speaker of the House, senators and representatives.”
“If I were running this organization, I would change the way we handle mental health issues. Most police-related instances have to do with mental health, and many times, people call 911 due to mental health crises. I would hire a mental health crisis team to handle those issues — people who are trained in dealing with these kind of situations. This team would do weekly checkups and visits in non-police uniforms, so the person isn’t intimidated.”
