Beyond the Bell: How EHS Interns Build Skills and Community

After the final bell rings at The English High School (EHS), most students head home or go to jobs off campus. But 20 students stay behind—clocking in for after-school internships that help to keep the school running. Some can be found building a robotic hand, practicing their sewing, or photographing the school play, while others assist teachers and staff with essential duties. Although their roles vary, each intern is building professional skills, earning a wage, and strengthening their school community. 

Thanks to funding by YouthWorks, a state-wide youth employment program managed by Commonwealth Corporation and administered by the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development, many EHS teachers and staff receive extra help from student interns in a wide range of roles. Students work in one or two areas—athletics, business, design and visual communications, office administration, peer tutoring, and robotics—several days a week after class. These internships give students the chance to explore different career paths while contributing to the school. 

Business  

Through the lens of fashion, business pathways teacher Emiline Gomes teaches interns the essentials of entrepreneurship. Students develop skills in trend research, sales, measurements, sewing, and inventory management. Projects, such as hand stitching a varsity jacket for the school’s theater department or creating mood boards, allow interns to apply their newfound business skills. 

Senior Yaraliz Diaz, who hopes to start a fashion business while pursuing law, says the internship transformed her communication skills. “I learned customer service—how to negotiate, how to promote, how to entice someone to buy products,” she explains. “That’s something that I picked up quickly but didn’t know I was able to do until I joined this internship.”   

Peer Tutoring 

For the City Year Student Success Coaches, the help that interns provide at their after-school homework center is invaluable. As extra pairs of hands and eyes, the interns assist the Student Success Coaches with individualized student support, working with their classmates on organization, homework, and studying strategies.  

Most importantly, interns bring firsthand experience with the course material. The interns often have recently taken the coursework that their younger classmates seek guidance on, and their advice and recommendations stem from their own experiences.  “The students that are helping us are really strong students and ones who are models for their peers,” says Student Success Coach Rachel Hendrix. “It’s another space that students can leverage their own knowledge to succeed.”  

Robotics 

At EHS, robotics is offered as an elective. For students eager to dive further into the subject, the after-school internship program is an opportunity to gain extra experience. With help from two Tufts students, robotics teacher Charlotte Corbett designed a robotic hand project to expose students to core robotics concepts. 

The robotic hand, complete with moveable fingers, teaches students the engineering by design process—identifying a problem, brainstorming solutions, and building and testing a prototype. In addition to cultivating technical abilities, students strengthen their communication skills through writing up their findings, making an elevator pitch, and presenting their project. “We’re moving students away from being consumers of technology, to being creators of technology,” says Corbett.  

Athletics 

Athletics interns provide essential support to the school’s athletics program. Their responsibilities include keeping equipment inventory, organizing storage space, and general maintenance, which allows sports programming to flow smoothly. Head Boys Basketball Coach Eric McKoy hopes that through this internship experience, students learn punctuality, teamwork, and communication.  

For Nalisha Matos Zorilla, her role as an athletics assistant has contributed to her sense of school community. “I feel more connected and involved,” she shares. “It makes me happy because all the adults here have provided us with a safe academic space for me, so I feel like I’m giving back by helping them.”   

Through these internships, EHS students are doing more than earning a paycheck—they are gaining confidence, building real-world skills, and making meaningful contributions to their community. Whether they pursue careers in business, education, engineering, or athletics, these experiences are helping to shape their futures while strengthening the school they call home. 

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