BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem Area School District this month will launch a communications internship to train high schoolers in journalism, marketing and more, officials announced Monday.
Throughout the semester-long Communications Pathways Internship, students will serve as writers, photographers, videographers, graphic designers and social media specialists.
“Students will graduate not only with experience, but with portfolios, professional skills and confidence in their voice,” BASD Communications Manager Jennifer LoConte said at Monday’s school board committee meeting.
“Students will graduate not only with experience, but with portfolios, professional skills and confidence in their voice."Jennifer LoConte, BASD Communications Manager
Applications for the internship are open through the district’s Career Pathways Program, which lets students explore potential careers across five pathways.
Those include Arts, Humanities & Communications; Business, Finance & Law; Education; Health & Social Services; and STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
Starting in eighth grade, students will take interest inventories, complete targeted coursework and engage in service learning and hands-on activities, according to a district news release.
The goal of the Career Pathways Program is to give students the knowledge they need to make decisions about the educational and work-related opportunities available to them post-graduation.
Through the program, the district also offers job shadowing and internship opportunities in courtrooms, hospitals, classrooms and other professional settings.
Internships include weekly reflections, mentorship conversations, a final paper and a work portfolio aligned to state standards.
Earning school credit and gaining job skills
For the Communications Pathways Internship, student interns will work with the district’s communications office under LoConte, who started her role in November. She previously was director of communications for ArtsQuest.
For the inaugural semester of the program, only two BASD seniors will participate — one from Liberty High School and the other from Freedom High School.
The district plans to expand participation in future years, officials said.
The interns will earn school credit while producing content for the district’s website, newsletter and social media accounts.
The district might even expand its social media footprint to TikTok with the help of the interns, LoConte said.
The interns will write feature articles about staff members and fellow students, capture photography and video footage to promote the district and support BASD’s social media and branding efforts, she said.
They also will participate in workshops on media ethics, journalism, design and storytelling.
School Director Michael Recchiuti said Monday he is excited about the new internship.
“I think this is a great idea," he said.
Recchiuti suggested the district connect and collaborate with the existing social media program at Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School.
Future partnership with ArtsQuest
Students in future cohorts of the communications internship will visit ArtsQuest’s new Creative Factory powered by PPL, which is under construction and slated to open in December.
Those interns will use the Creative Factory’s space and equipment for media production, storytelling and content creation.
“It’s just that balance to make sure that we’re not setting them up for any real-world disappointment as they move forward."BASD School Director Silagh White
School Director Silagh White said it’s important student interns have appropriate expectations about the learning curve for becoming comfortable with new technology, as well as the time it takes to execute communications projects.
White also said high-end technology that may be available through ArtsQuest isn’t always a reality in workplaces.
Instead, organizations often ask communications professionals to rely on the capabilities of their cell phones or free online tools, she said.
“It’s just that balance to make sure that we’re not setting them up for any real-world disappointment as they move forward,” she said.
BASD also has biomedical and manufacturing internships available, and it plans to expand its apprenticeship opportunities, administrators said.
Starting this month, BASD will launch its Advanced Manufacturing Pre-Apprenticeship Course to prepare students for opportunities in the trades.
That course will connect students with manufacturing professionals and apprenticeships.
