Information Session &

Internship Design Workhop

Leslie Simmons

Brandon Jewell

Jolene Pighini

Deputy Director

Director of Programs

Student Success Advisor

CTE Foundation Programs Team

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• Name & organization
• How did you hear about Path to Purpose?
• Why are you interested in exploring internships?

Introductions

Workforce Partners

Founding Partners

How can we make internships more viable, accessible to students and feasible for employers?

The Challenge

The Question We Posed:

A countywide internship program that makes participation as easy as possible for students and employers while ensuring a safe, legal compliant, and high-quality experience for everyone.

The Solution

Program Elements

• Universal countywide application for all Sonoma County high school juniors and seniors
• All eligible applicants interviewed
• Internship placement in 50+ hour paid or unpaid internship
• Students earn early college credit from online SRJC internship course
• Live Scan background clearance to ensure safety & compliance (we provide you with paperwork and instructions)
• Wraparound support & mentorship for students and employers
• Individual support / regular check-ins
• Open-door support from CTE Foundation staff
• Workshops & trainings
• Tools & resources

• Employer recruitment, onboarding, & workshops
• Employers build internship structure
• Employer provides internship job description(s)
• Student application open Aug 12 - September 23
• Pre-Internship SRJC course available for students

• Path to Purpose team interviews applicants
• Path to Purpose team makes placements & facilitates connections
• Intern supervisor/mentor fingerprinted (Live Scan)

• Intern supervisor/mentor fingerprinted (Live Scan)
• Employer Orientation: January 15
• Internships begin in February
• Ongoing intern & employer support
• Internships end by mid-May
• End-of-internship meeting with SRJC instructor
• Path to Purpose team provides surveys and tracks data

January - May 2027

November - December 2026

June - September 2026

Timeline

2025-2026

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By the Numbers

• Every comprehensive high school in Sonoma County
• 4 Public Charters
• 3 Alt Ed

Applicants came from 22 high schools

• 30% 11th Graders Placed
• 70% 12th Graders Placed

249 Applicants 105 Placed

• County of Sonoma
• Healthcare partners: Sutter/Providence/Kaiser
• Many nonprofits

Key Employer Partners

• 18 for-profit
• 20 non-profit/membership/healthcare
• 4 public/government

42 Employers Hosted

• All students who completed their application had a chance to interview with 2 members of our team, providing valuable experience in a “real” interview

The Process = Experience

Lessons Learned

Our Promise of Continuous Improvement

• The wraparound support was the key to successful experiences
• Regular communication with interns and hosts
• Professional development opportunities for students
• Increasing workshop offerings
• SRJC pre-internship course for students
• Virtual drop-in office hours

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• Even more transparency
• With students about internship offerings, expectations,
• With employers about student resumes, expectations, etc.
• Clear timeline

• Mandatory attendance at orientation for interns and employers
• It’s critical that everyone involved has a clear understanding of what this program is.

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• Improved interview & placement process
• Streamlined process to ensure best placements possible
• Structured data collection from students and employers to ensure schedules match

Lessons Learned

Our Promise of Continuous Improvement

What to Expect of the Interns

• This may be their first job/work experience
• Workplace norms that feel obvious to you may be brand new to them – but they're eager and willing to learn. Treat teachable moments as part of the internship.
• They want to be useful, not just observe
• Real tasks, even small ones, help students feel valued and engaged.
• Set expectations before day one
• Share the schedule, dress code, check-in details, and who their supervisor is. Clarity is where first-time workers thrive.
• Communication styles may differ
• Students may hesitate to speak up or not know to communicate about absences. Be explicit about how you want them to communicate, and model it.
• They're balancing school and more
• A little scheduling flexibility, paired with clear attendance expectations, goes a long way.

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What is Expected of Hosts

• Program Participation
• Submit job descriptions by September 11, 2026.
• Designate an intern supervisor
• Attend the orientation on January 15, 2027 at 9am
• Provide a minimum of 50 hours total over the Spring semester (January–May)
• Support your intern through their SRJC Internship Course
• Help build learning goals
• Meet with the intern and their SRJC instructor at the end of the internship

What is Expected of Hosts

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• Safety & Compliance Requirements
• Sign the Internship Host MOU
• Direct supervisors must sign the Supervisor Agreement
• Direct supervisors must pass a Live Scan fingerprint background check
• Direct supervisors must complete California Mandated Reporter training
• Employers must provide harassment prevention training for supervisors, if legally required for the organization
• Provide a Certificate of Insurance (COI) listing CTE Foundation as an additional insured

Work Experience Internship Course – WEE 99I

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• Review and approve intern’s learning goals at the start of the internship.
• Support your intern in meeting their 50-hour requirement.
• Participate in one end-of-internship evaluation meeting with your intern and their SRJC instructor.

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Expectations of Employers

Work Experience Internship Course – WEE 99I

• All coursework is completed in Canvas.

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• The time commitment for the course is:
• 50 internship hours
• 15 hours of coursework

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• Sample Assignments:

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Expectations of Students

• Online orientation + quiz
• Work Goals Form completed w/ the job supervisor
• Employability Skills Assessment
• In-person meeting with the assigned Work Experience Instructor
• Draft Resume; Revised Resume

• Mid-semester check-in
• Student report
• Hours Tracking form submission
• Final Meeting
• Weekly check-ins when no assignments due

Internship Design Workshop

Focus for This Next Hour

• Structures of your internships
• Rotational, role-specific, or project-based
• Productive work output or observational learning-focused
• Paid & Unpaid
• Best practices
• Start creating the job description
• Go through the template together
• Free time to begin building your job description

Goal:

Leave with a strong foundation from which to continue building your internship job descriptions

ROTATIONAL:

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Intern gains experience orbserving or working in different departments.

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ROLE SPECIFIC:

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Intern is focused on one department or role.

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PROJECT BASED:

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Intern is focused on completing a specific project.

Internship Structures to Consider

PAID

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Intern can contribute meaningful work that adds value to an organization while gaining hands-on educational experience.

UNPAID

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Internship tasks can complement but cannot displace the work of paid employees, and must be centered on providing a learning benefit to the intern. Similar to a job shadow.

Internship Structures to Consider

PRODUCTIVE WORK OUTPUT

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A role that benefits both the intern and the host, giving the intern a sense that they are meaningfully contributing.

OBSERVATIONAL

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A role that does not provide direct benefit to the employer and is solely focuses on providing a high-quality learning experience.

Best Practices

• Center the intern’s voice​
• Ask open-ended questions about their goals and interests, and co-design tasks around what excites them.​
• Model vulnerability ​
• Go first. Share a mistake you’ve made — it signals that learning is expected here, not judged.​
• Build real connection​
• Open 1:1s with “What do you need to be successful?” before shifting to tasks.​
• Build (don’t assume) support​
• Match mentors and peers on rapport and shared interests — not on who “looks or sounds like” the intern.​
• Give radical clarity​
• Spell out communication channels, calendar norms, and shared tools. Nothing about “how we work” is obvious on day one.​

“I don’t care what you know until I know that you care.”​

THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE​

Let’s Build Your Internship

Set your Intern Up for Success

• Let Learning goals be your guide.
• Create tasks that allow your intern to practice transferable skills.
• Examples of common transferable skills students report wanting to grow in:
• Public speaking
• Workplace communication
• Time management

Drafting Your

Internship Job Description

Let’s briefly go over the job description template.

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The link to the Internship Job Description form will be put in the chat.

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The opening description includes a link to download an editable Google Doc to work from.

Internship Job Description Form

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Google Doc template

• Consider the internship structure:
• Rotational, role-specific, or project-based
• Productive work output or observational learning-focused
• Paid & Unpaid
• Use the Internship Job Description template to start building your job description

If you have a question, please feel free to speak up. If you want to speak to a CTE Foundation staff person in a separate breakout room, raise your hand.

Independent Work Session

Thank You! Questions?

@ctefoundation

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@sonomacountyctefund

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@ctefoundation

For any questions about Path to Purpose, please contact:

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pathtopurpose@ctesonomacounty.org