Step Up is a program that helps students get real life experience through internships. These internships help students understand what working a job is like. The benefits of getting paid are very enticing, however, this program is only for students or kids who live in Minneapolis.
According to Junior Counselor Heidi Cosgrove said, past students at Park who participated in the program said they had a positive experience. While it is not a concrete job, being able to learn something from an internship in addition to getting paid is an amazing offer.
“Students that I have known over the years that have done Step Up. I tend to see them afterwards when they’re bringing in to get a credit for doing the program and they often say it was just such a really great experience. It’s different from having the traditional teenage jobs. They were just able to do something different,” Cosgrove said. “It felt more internship-like while getting paid and being able to get some high school credit and then also having that recognition on their high school transcript is a huge plus with Step Up.”
Junior Adam Rosvold said Step Up can help with getting real world experience in a working environment while providing a new experience. He said this internship will create a structure for the future when it comes to getting a job.
“I would do (Step Up) because it gives you good opportunities to get real world experience in whatever job you’re looking to go into,” Rosvold said. “It’s like an internship but you also get paid, so you’re making money while also getting experience. People who are hiring will look for people with experience and this can give you experiences at a really young age.”
English Teacher Kelsey Hanson said, in the time period when she worked as a teacher in Minneapolis, she said she saw students join the program and have seen positive benefits from the program.
“In the past, when I taught in Minneapolis, I had several students apply and get summer jobs through Step Up and they always had really good experiences and just got a lot of knowledge and understanding about different jobs,” Hanson said. “And you know what those jobs are valuable experiences that they can put on a resume or even just like us to help inform what kind of job they might want to have in the future.”
Cosgrove said that even though this program is only for students who live in Minneapolis there’s still a big chunk of students who go to Park and live in Minneapolis.
“We have a lot of students that live in Minneapolis that go to St. Louis Park. That’s a pretty big piece of it. I would love all communities to have something like this for students that can just go beyond a typical teenage job, if you will,” Cosgrove said. “It’s such a great connection and that is what these kids make and it just feels different than that traditional teenage summer job. So yeah, do I think St. Louis Park should have something I would love the community to have something like this for sure. I would love all communities to have something as our students are emerging to become young adults.”
Hanson said, there needs to be a better way at promoting this program other than just a slide show. This could look like getting representatives from Step Up to talk in-depth about the program so that kids can get a better sense of what it’s all about.
“I do think that there’s probably a more effective way than just having a connection slide. I do feel like if we can have someone from step up, maybe come and talk to either connections classes, or like have a class meeting or even zoom in, during connections just like face to face, and talk about it. I really do feel like I have had several kids that did it in Minneapolis and they really loved it,” Hanson said.
Rosvold said that additional information to what type of jobs and what you get out of this program with if it’s a high school credit or something to put on a resume. Also what is the role of a student who is a part of Step Up and the role that a student plays.
“I would love to know what programs Step up offers and the variety of jobs that are offered to experience at the program. Just to be able to know for sure what I would be doing in the program and what my role would be as a student. How colleges might see Step Up on a resume or if it’s only a part of the high school, would love to know if that’s included or a part of the program,” Rosvald said
