Some things, you just cannot learn in school.
This week, several of us from CAST Schools were invited to our business partner, Accenture, to hear presentations from CAST Tech interns wrapping up their summer employment.
The first young person to share his reflections was Nathan Castillo a young man we have known well since his freshman year, as he was a part of our network-wide student advisory and traveled with Eddie Rodriguez, Sr. Partnership Director, and I, on a global leadership trip to Mexico City.
Nathan reflected on how his time at Accenture had sharpened his time management skills, as the work environment clarified for him the importance of meeting deadlines and being punctual. To a student, each of the 4 Accenture interns confessed that they had worried that spending their summer in an office would be boring. Instead, they came away with not only new skills, but also a sense of belonging.
Graduating senior Shealyn Holveck noted that the “scary things” school told her about work were simply wrong: “Struggle does not indicate failure. Needing support is not inconvenient. Asking for help is encouraged.”
After presenting, she hurried over to me to reassure me that the negative messages she heard about work were at her middle school and not at CAST Tech High School. Even if they had been at our school, I would want to know, because feedback is how we learn and get better.
Later in the week, Eddie and I listened to similar presentations from 8 CAST STEM students who were part of Toyota’s ATMA (Advanced Technology of Manufacturing Academy), preparing students to enter their 2-year AMT (Advanced Maintenance Technician) apprenticeship. Powerfully, some of these CAST STEM summer interns were mentored by CAST STEM graduates who are now working for Toyota, either as apprentices or full-time staff.
The CAST STEM students admitted fearing that working at the plant would be boring, but instead, rising senior Ryan Reynolds called it “anything but.” Rising senior Daniel Rodriguez said: “every day here was a good day.” Others acknowledged having misconceptions about manufacturing, and being blown away by the level of automation, and learning that Toyota employees focused on oversight of the robots, quality control, and troubleshooting.
The students shared a range of technical skills and life skills they acquired in their 7-week paid internship, including time management, self-confidence, and public speaking. Of the 8 students, 5 expressed a desire to continue into the AMT program after high school graduation. Ryan Reynolds thanked the mentors and leaders at Toyota for “showing us things we did not even know were possible,” and teaching us: “if you’re not failing, you’re not learning.”
Listening to these students present, I am reminded once again of the power of authentic experiences in the workplace. I am also reminded of how important reflection and feedback is to the learning process. We work very hard at CAST Schools to ensure that we build opportunities to reflect and receive honest feedback, from peers and adults, into our school design.
In the past two weeks, students from across our CAST Schools have participated in similar closing reflective presentations at CPS Energy, Toyotetsu, CAST Schools and SA Works, that we know of. We are grateful to each one of these industry partners – and all the others hosting interns this summer – for an experience that school can only simulate.
Jeanne Russell
Executive Director, CAST Schools