High School Internships
A New Program
In the summer of 2022, Lynchburg Beacon of Hope piloted a unique high school career exploration internship for 34 rising juniors and seniors attending the city’s two public high schools. This program partnered with 13 different Lynchburg-based employers, from our largest employer, Centra health, to some of our smaller locally-based companies. Students underwent 20+ hours of training and preparation before entering the workforce and spent more than 80 hours experiencing careers in high-growth industries of our region.
The feedback from both students and employers was that the experience was highly effective in opening local students’ eyes to available career opportunities and building career pipelines for students in high-demand fields. This program nearly doubled its size in the summer of 2023 based on student and employer demand, and it continues to grow and evolve.
The program is divided into three modules:
Job Readiness Module
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla.
Experiential On-site Module
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla.
Conclusion and Reflection Module
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla.
Job Readiness Module
The Job Readiness Module is a three-day, 20-hour training module that will be held in June of 2025 at Central Virginia Community College.
All interns will participate in the Job Readiness Module as a cohort. Lynchburg Beacon of Hope works with other community partners to create and deliver the Job Readiness Training Module.
Topics addressed will include:
Resume building workshop
Job Interview training and mock interviews
Mock Networking training
Workplace Professionalism
Communication within the workplace
General financial literacy, investing, credit, and student loans (Adulting 101)
Team building and team orientation in a professional workplace
Experiential On-Site Module
This module will involve almost three weeks of an on-site experiential internship opportunity at one of our business partners. Students are placed at over 20 sites during the 2025 program, including Centra Health, Jamerson-Lewis Construction, Fleet, US Pipe, OrthoVirginia, Southern Air, Liberty University Aviation Maintenance, Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, Academy Center of the Arts, and others.
Students report to their internship sites M-Th, for a total of 48 hours over the span of the month. Hours may vary based on site and student availability and preference. Students will be matched with an internship site that meets their interests and availability.
Conclusion &
Reflection Module
This module will take place on Fridays during the one-month internship program. Attendance is required from 9 am until 1 pm each day. Students will meet as a cohort with Beacon of Hope staff and near-peer mentors to reflect on their workplace experiences, to share information and lessons learned with their peers, and to engage in meaningful growth and conversation.
