MADISON

Daniel Hand High School (DHHS) is in search of community partners to act as career mentors for high school students. The counseling department seeks to connect with any professionals interested in mentoring DHHS students via job shadowing and internship opportunities.

College and Career Counselor at DHHS Christine Coyle said the programs are a crucial aspect for students to gain practical knowledge and advice across a wide variety of topics. The current program is just getting traction, and Coyle said the first step is to reach out to potential professionals interested in being part of the effort.

“We are in the process of trying to develop relationships with community members so that we can offer more internships and job shadowing opportunities for students. It is, in some ways, a program in the making,” said Coyle. “We really want to create these relationships and build this program. Any exploration that kids can do while in high school is super helpful to their future. Often, students leave here and have some ideas about what they want to do but end up changing majors or switching colleges or leaving colleges because it’s not the right fit for them. We feel like any experience we can have with them while still here at Hand can make the process a little smoother.”

Coyle said her department is currently offering several opportunities but hasn’t cemented the final program yet. According to Coyle, the school system also needs individuals interested in speaking to students about potential career paths and those interested in participating in upcoming DHHS career fairs.

“We are kind of piloting some different scenarios right now. We have had students who have done some work in a variety of placements, and those students have been pretty happy with that experience. We haven’t had a lot, but the few we have done have gone quite well,” she said.

As far as the type of professionals the system is seeking, Coyle said that almost any businessperson willing to invest in a student’s future is a candidate.

“We are looking for anyone interested in working with our students in any capacity. So, I am really trying to build a network of individuals so that if a student comes in to me and says, ‘I want to be an accountant,’ that we have four or five people in the community who I can call upon and help connect them with. Whether that’s is an internship or a quick one-day job shadowing sort of opportunity, whether it’s a conversation or a mentorship, there are a lot of different ways we can get the students to connect,” said Coyle. “Right now, we are really in that process of building a large network who are interested in working with our students in some capacity. We are looking for retired folks, those currently in the industry, past Daniel Hand graduates, so really anyone who wants to share and offer their experience is someone we are looking for.”

The program encompasses all high school grades from freshmen to seniors, and Coyle stressed how valuable volunteers can be for this age group.

“Sharing the life and business experiences with students is an incredible benefit. I have found most people are willing to help out, so we hope by getting the word out, we can bring in and find out what we can do together,” she said.

For more information, contact Christine Coyle at coyle.christine@madisonps.org or 203-245-6360.