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City High Internships 2005-2006

1st Trimester

2nd Trimester

3rd Trimester

Myrgelina Clervil and April Hudson	Amanda Battaglia's
Christie Szkabara	Joe Lipinski and Chris Zubak-Skees
Lauren Bey	Maura Smith
Russell Faust	Katie Osselborn
Marquayla White	Courtney Clinkscales
Erica Fink's	Julia Simmons
Heather Street	TR McAlexander
Ashlyn Petett	Donald Fowler
JeVon Hatcher	Donavin Jackson
Cathy Abbinanti	Grace Frankenberg
Sean Green	AJ Clifton
Vince Chandler's	Brandi Lee
Calvin Porch	Adrienne Stevenson
Temerse Luckett	Lauren Bivins
Mike Madden	Katie Linkhauer
Jessica Jenkins	PCTV
Kris Hicks and Joel Gibbs	Marcus Day

Many students at City High have indicated an interest in health-related careers. Placements for these students have opened the door to a variety of experiences and opportunities. Myrgelina Clervil and April Hudson have the benefit of working with Dr. Willa Doswell and her associates at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, working on a special project for teen girls called NIA, which is Swahili for "having a sense of purpose". They work as a team researching topics such as teen health, relationships with family and friends, dating and sexual activity, and personal care for African American girls, and they produce a newsletter with articles on these topics. They have also been introduced to many doctors and nurses and have visited hospitals, libraries and exhibits to expose them to the diversity of career options in the health field. During the "Take a Health Care Professional to the People" Day each girl did a fine job reaching out to the public. They have been required to do presentations on their assignments, and they will each give a final 5-7minute Power Point presentation to the research team staff using the process and type of study they were taught during the internship. April has selected sickle-cell anemia as her topic, and Myrgelina is working on one concerning health and legal issues affecting people sentenced to the death penalty. Dr. Doswell said that the girls are punctual, enthusiastic, and helpful; they gathered literature on STD's for her to present to a girls' group at her church.

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"I have seen how much patience you must have and how many different disabilities there are…." was a description of Amanda Battaglia's experience as an intern at RSI PA Children's Choices in Carnegie. Most of the patients with whom Amanda worked this trimester are Downs Syndrome or autistic clients. She works under the supervision of Melissa Thomas, the Assistant Director, who described Amanda as timely, helpful and very personable. She put together manuals for the therapists to replace those that were destroyed by the flooding last year from a hurricane. She also entered patient data and filed the information for the staff. Her favorite client is a 20 year old young man who comes to RSI for physical and occupational therapy. Amanda has also observed speech therapy, but she indicated that she most enjoys working with the occupational therapists. She asked that her picture be taken with two of the people she has worked with and from whom she has learned a lot, Melissa Thomas and Aaron Tobias, the Business/Office Manager at RSI.

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Christie Szkabara was thrilled when she was offered an internship at the National Aviary. She had planned to drop off a volunteer application that same day on her own. Her mentor, Mark Soxman, who has worked with three other interns already, had great things to say about her. "She is awesome!" was the first remark, followed by statements that Christie has lots of patience, she is personable, and she will do whatever she is asked to do. During her first week there Christie was asked to take pictures of the birds for a woman living in Florida who had volunteered at the Aviary. She wanted to show what species they have at the National Aviary to her Audubon Society group. Christie has been asked by Mrs. Moye to put together a Power Point of pictures her class took at the Aviary to show on the monitor at the reception desk at school. Two other employees, Jamie Cleaver, the Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator, and Sandy Dickson, an Education Assistant, made a point of joining the site visit meeting to add their remarks. Jamie said that Christie is a fast learner and is working with "Winnie", a Crested Oropendula, that is used in their education program. She has gotten Winnie to fly to her and eat worms from her hand as shown in the picture of Christie, Winnie and Mark. Sandy said that Christie is "pretty neat--my favorite assistant!" and that she is low-key. Christie says that this is an interesting job and fits into her plans for her senior project and future career in animal forensics, a new and growing field.

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Staff, students and parents of City High are all dependent on the "Dashboard" system of sharing information on assignments, grades, attendance and many more categories of information. Bob Oelrich, the Chief Technology Officer and Vice-President of Software Engineering, accepted two students for internships this trimester. He said that Joe Lipinski and Chris Zubak-Skees have an excellent attendance record and act professionally and appropriately at all times. This has opened the opportunity for them to attend company meetings as well as to do their part in developing software in a corporate environment. Although each young man has a different personality and approach to the work, they both started out with the challenge of working with a lead programmer. They weren't discouraged; rather they were confident on this very ambitious project of making it possible for users of the Dashboard to have e-mail capacity directly. This required learning about design, specifications and user interfaces. For the company's Family Appreciation Night, Joe volunteered to perform a magic show for the 25 people who attended. This is another of his great skills. The President and CEO of Commersel, Elbert N. Yaworski, asked Joe to speak to his class at CMU titled "Technology Goals, Instruction, and Assessment". There were 9 in the class, two from foreign countries, all technology directors and academic administrators in high schools. Joe spoke for an hour on "The Infusion of the Technology of the Dashboard in the Classroom", drawing on his experiences at City High. Mr. Yaworski said that Joe did an excellent job. According to Bob Oelrich, Chris seems to be the leader of the project, has progressed very well and will thrive. Joe is outgoing and well-received by everyone as he does his share of the assignment. Joe summed it up for both of them when he said that they are treated as co-workers. They wanted their picture taken together as the team that they are: Bob is flanked by Chris on the left and Joe on the right.

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Lauren Bey plans to be an attorney in the future, and through her internship she is learning about the needs of a very specific group of people who need advocacy. She works for the United Cerebral Palsy Association in Oakland, and her mentor, Janis Thoma-Negley, presented a full-paged list of the work that Lauren has done in the past three months. Lauren has Cerebral Palsy and understands the challenges that staff and participants in the classes there face every day. She has worked one-on-one with 6 students in computer classes, tutored functional spelling skills to one participant on Tuesdays, and assisted in the lunch room, getting items for participants. She assisted instructor, Jocelyn Banks, in the completion of data entry of class progress notes every Friday, maintained an attendance table for county and state monitors on a weekly basis, set up a tracking table in Excel, prepared artist bios and helped in preparations for the Centre Art Show held on October 13, and attended a Mayoral debate hosted by UCP. For her senior project, Lauren has interviewed key Centre staff and 5 participants on video. She spoke to an Information and Referral Specialist and to Director Melva Gooden who provided data and information on employment for people with disabilities. Lauren will also meet Mary Ann McGurik, a Parent Advocate, who knows and works with lawyers, especially in the area of the Americans With Disabilities Act. She is getting a good start on her law career and doing great things with the people at the Centre. In the picture she is working with Cristin Woodworth at the computer as Janis Thoma-Negley looks on. Cristin works at Heinz Field as a paid greeter of the fans.

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True dedication to your job sometimes requires doing something you might not otherwise do, such as dressing up as a pumpkin for the Halloween meeting of the Downtown Rotary Club. This is what Maura Smith did with her mentor, Leslie Fisher, and this effort was "so appreciated by the Rotarians". Ms. Fisher said that Maura follows directions, shows initiative, and "She gets it done". When she began her internship, she was very shy, but she warmed up quickly as she got involved with the activities in the office. She has done spreadsheets, updated the Rotary website, organized files, and prepared member badges for the weekly Wednesday luncheon meetings. At the meetings she sits at the tables with various members who talk to her and give her advice about what to look for when she goes to college--tips on what to do and what not to do as well. Maura's final comment was: "I really don't want to leave at the end of the trimester!"

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Russell Faust plays the cello, so what better site for his internship than the Pittsburgh Symphony? With his fantastic computer skills, he has impressed his mentors, Claire Stoops and Yu-Ling. He has prepared copy for their newsletter, "E-Notes" to increase awareness of the Symphony in Pittsburgh. He also does data entry and makes additions to the Events website. Claire stated that his work is better than the college interns they have had. Russell works from beginning to end, and he is on time, very speedy, responsible and easy-going. Claire and Yu-Ling want to keep him for the entire year! A highlight of his experience is that he met Yo-Yo Ma, the world-famous cellist, when he was in Pittsburgh earlier this year. Russell said that he plans to go in to help during his trimester breaks---another dedicated intern! Doesn’t he looks comfortable posing in the symphony hall with Claire Stoops?

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"Let everyone know how much we appreciate Katie!" was the first comment from Joyce Evans, a Dietary Technician at Mercy Hospital with whom Katie Osselborn works. Katie's aunt told her how much they could use help in the department, and Sister Joanne, the Director of Volunteers, agreed to place Katie with Tom Hritz, the Clinical Nutrition Manager at Mercy Hospital. Katie keys in the selections from patient menus, then she goes to the rooms of those who haven't returned them. Later she files the menus and helps others in the office with their computer skills. Mark Mason, another Dietary Tech, and Joyce Evans, shown in the picture with Katie, praised her commitment to her work. Katie also designed a poster board on the dangers of leaving food out and the growth of bacteria. It was titled 'Leaf me alone!" and had a fall theme. She even took a Halloween treat in for the staff. Mr. Hritz added that Katie plans to go in a couple of days a week to continue her work during the trimester break in December. She enjoys interacting with the patients when she picks up their menu selections or helps them to complete them. Now that is dedication!

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Working with flower arrangements and gift baskets at Jim Ludwig's Blumengarten in the Strip District has been an opportunity for Marquayla White to use her artistic abilities this trimester. Mr. Ludwig describes "Quay" as an energetic, flamboyant, out-going and friendly young lady. She has really mastered the creation of the "Pittsburgh" gift baskets, as shown in the picture, and she has also learned to do silk flower arrangements and dish gardens. Early in her internship, Quay went along to assist with the floral decorations for a wedding, and she recently helped with another wedding and for an event at the Heinz History Center. She saw an example of their maintenance work at Centre City Towers where they change the silk flowers for new displays. Quay has learned to process cut flowers for the designers, wrap orders for delivery which requires multiple steps for handling delicate gifts, and to price and display new arrivals at the shop. Jim plans to introduce her to taking orders on the phone as another facet of the business.

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If you watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade this year, watch for the turkeys in an ad campaign for GlaxoSmithKline.They were made by designer Suz Pisano and her City High intern, Courtney Clinkscales. Courtney has been having a great experience, learning about fabrics and designing purses that she gave as presents to her mother and friends. One skill she gained was how to give a furry fabric a "haircut" at strategic places in a purse. Suz said that she is doing a great job and is not too shy to jump right in. She is never idle, organizing areas in the studio so that she will be familiar with where everything is. Coutrney does the pockets and linings for purses and sometimes she has to take them apart and start over if Suz doesn't think something is not quite right. Planning a career in fashion design, Courtney appreciates everything that Ms. Pisano has taught her and the opportunity to create some interesting pieces. Her studio on Fifth Avenue is quite an interesting place to visit.

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A successful job should create a win/win situation for both the employer and the employee. City High's internships are expected to follow that pattern, and Erica Fink's experience at the City of Pittsburgh Law Department with Attorney Shannon Barkley is a good example of this. Ms. Barkley began her description of Erica with "She is doing a fantastic job!" and she has excellent organizational and communication skills. She has had one-on-one contact with many lawyers on the third floor of the City/County Building. Erica has completed tasks for many of the lawyers: did research to assemble a Wharf Binder with information for future cases; learned how legal files are managed in the legal system through data entry; entered data in the system regarding the disposition of claims and cases to close them out; organized Discovery Binders, gathered information for court cases, a skill which is usually learned in law school; prepared labels for the Allegheny County Bar Association. Erica did all of these jobs and more quickly and efficiently and she has earned the respect of everyone with whom she has worked. Erica stated that she is more committed to pursuing a career in law than ever, and that she will miss working with Shannon when her internship is completed.

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A business that deals in unique fashion items is Little Earth Productions, located at the intersection of the Birmingham Bridge and Fifth Avenue. Ava DeMarco is the co-founder of this company which specializes in purses, notebooks and other items made from license plates, and belts from tires and pop bottle caps. She started at home, but quickly needed a bigger space. The entire operation from design to shipping is done at the 2231 Fifth Avenue building, until now. With 40 employees and orders coming in from specialty stores and Internet shoppers, they are planning to move part of the operation to the South Side and find another larger building for the manufacturing end of the business. This trimester Julia Simmons interned at Little Earth, working with Assistant Designer, Casey Akins. Casey said that Julia is a hard worker, eager to learn, always on time and easy-going. She initiates additional work that she does once she has completed an assignment. Julia has worked on sourcing for prototypes, seeing what parts are important to have for an idea that might be considered for a new product; she has produced plates for shipments each day, prepared PR and new retailer information kits, and tagged belts in preparation for shipping to customers’ stores. She has also helped in the accounting department and other places where needed. In the picture, Casey and Julia are standing in front of a display of purses, with Julia holding one made from a Las Vegas plate. Many of the items are decorated with Swarovsky crystals that sparkle just like Julia's smile.

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"She is better than any Bradford School paralegal or secretarial student intern I have had". This quote came from Patricia DiClemente, Office Manager at Reich, Alexander, Reisinger & Farrell Law firm where Heather Street is the intern receiving this praise. Ms. DiClemente said that she is very efficient and bright, never says "I can't", and does not waste any time. Pat sometimes runs out of work for her to do, but Heather keeps busy filing or helping someone else. She created forms in Excel and spreadsheets that were a big help. In her mentorship she had an opportunity to see trials and sentencings with her mentor, Sam Reich. However, at this time Sam is serving as the special prosecutor in Washington County on a murder trial that could result in the death penalty, so Ms. DiClemente has filled in for him. At times Heather worked on assignments for other attorneys in the firm; she has her own office as shown in the picture with Pat. Heather remains committed to her plan for a career in law and has now seen many sides of the work involved in that career.

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TR McAlexander is interning with David Korman, a Hearing Officer in the Court of Common Pleas, Family Division, Adult Section. Mr. Korman was appointed to his position first in 1989 when he served for one year, and he returned in 1995 to the present. He also teaches at the University of Pittsburgh, presenting lectures on AIDS law issues and medical ethics. To assist Mr. Korman, TR does legal research on his computer, and has created a database of information on appellate court cases by name, date, and citation. He also updates the list of no-shows when neither party appears for the hearing, and domestic relations officers make suggestions on how to proceed. TR has actually written up the orders for various cases on the proper forms. He has taken warrants and dismissals to judges to request the release of someone from jail, and he organized the library in the court room. Mr. Korman said that TR is consistent and dependable like clockwork. TR sits at his desk in the courtroom during hearings and continues his work on the computer as Mr. Korman conducts a hearing.

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City High has a third intern working at the Allegheny County morgue, Ashlyn Petett. Chief Deputy Coroner, Joe Dominick, praised her as having exceptional workforce skills. Ashlyn's duties include making death calls for natural deaths of patients in hospice care or through a nurse. She enters data as a narrative on the circumstances of death and locates next of kin information. She has seen autopsies and stated that learning the details of a death and seeing autopsies are what she most appreciates doing. She said that everyone makes her experience there so much better. Since ninth grade Ashlyn has expressed interest in forensic science and is pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Deputy Coroners. In the picture Ashlyn and Joe are placing a body on a gurney in the cooler where the bodies are stored until they are picked up by undertakers.

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Helping students understand the importance of planning for the future and saving money for their education, a home, or a car is the objective of a program, "My Money, My Life", offered through Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. Donald Fowler is an intern working with Emily Keebler, the Outreach and Training Coordinator for this program. He assists her at the office, preparing materials for the classes she conducts in various communities. He accompanied her to the sessions at the Homestead Library in the evenings and conducted some small group discussions. To participate, students must be 16 years of age, and meet income requirements. At the end of the classes the students open a savings account and will receive matching funds if students save at least $10 a week, to a minimum of $300 and up to $1,000 a year for up to two years. Several banks in the Homestead community participate in the partnership with NHS. The picture shows Donald and Emily at the graduation session on October 18 where the students had a final class in avoiding check cashing stores and rent-to-own businesses. They received certificates of participation and enjoyed a light luncheon with their parents and families.

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In about 15 years there will be a school with a Principal named JeVon Hatcher. That is his career goal, and he knows that he must work his way up the ladder through lots of training and experiences. To begin working with students, JeVon is interning at Carlow Campus School with second grade teacher, LuAnn Lagnese, and her eleven students. They call him "Mr. JeVon" and look forward to his arrival every afternoon. He leads activities, sometimes with the entire class and other times with a smaller group. He also works with several other teachers during the week. He has served lunch duty with the entire school present at one time and bus dismissal, which can both be a bit challenging to teachers and the Principal of any school. JeVon has a good reputation throughout the Carlow Campus School and stays to finish his day with the After-School program. When they had an apple tasting event, JeVon served the apples. For a pre-Halloween activity, he read "Porkenstein" to the class, with lots of expression and a smile on his face. This internship is a pleasure for Ms. Lagnese who really appreciates JeVon's efforts and skills. JeVon needs to spend many years perfecting his approach to being a Principal and keeping a smile on his face at all times, and he has gotten off to a good start!

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The Arts have come to City High in a big way this year. A special opportunity for our school comes in the form of an art show planned for July, 2006, and Donavin Jackson has been given the privilege of planning it as his internship. Future Tenant Gallery is a project of CMU Arts Management graduate students, Sarah Benvenuti and Julie Wright. The gallery, which is beside the Clark Building across Tito Way, is owned by the Cultural Trust, and has been given to the women rent-free until another owner takes over.They will then move to another empty space and use it as a gallery. In their classes, they do the business part of running this space. They exhibit interdisciplinary art from young and emerging artists. It is their job to organize the entire process of planning a show, selecting the work, promoting the show and arranging necessary financing. This is what Sarah and Julie are teaching Donavin. Jesse Rye, a first year Master of Arts student at CMU, is working toward an Educational Outreach program for Future Tenants. The entire month of July will be devoted to art from City High students; any student can submit a piece of work for the show including music as well as all forms of drawing painting, and sculpture. The adults will invite museums and art schools to come to visit the exhibits. Donavin enjoys creating pencil drawings, and sculpture; he has had a couple of lessons in photography. During his internship he created flyers as an introduction to Future Tenant Gallery, inviting City High to attend an introductory meeting and enjoy the current show there, "Static Fire". Sarah describes him as diligent, receptive, willing to do anything and try anything, and efficient with his work. He has learned to communicate well, and he feels that his internship is really exciting and teaching him a different method of management.

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Hundred Acres Manor is a successful Halloween site for folks who like to be scared out of their wits. Cathy Abbinanti discovered it on the Internet and became a volunteer months ago. She chose to work there for her internship with her mentor, Ethan Turon, a student at the Art Institute. Months of work are required to plan and create each room and area throughout this large creation on a property they rent from Allegheny County in South Park. Cathy was assigned to manage "the maze" with up to 20 actors stationed at various points to surprise unsuspecting visitors. She stays by the emergency exits, which is very important for the safety of their patrons. She has learned a lot about communicating with her team, showing patience, preparing and maintaining sign-in sheets for the volunteer actors, and putting the costumes away every night. The profits from this Fall adventure benefit the Homeless Children's Education Fund, headquartered in downtown Pittsburgh, and Animal Friends. Ethan said "It's 100% business!" and provides great experiences to Cathy and the other volunteers. By the mid-point of the trimester, Cathy has already logged over 140 hours and is headed toward setting a new all-time high record of internship hours!

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Describing Grace Frankenberg and her internship, Indigo Raffel used the terms fabulous, tough but low-key, opinionated, and creative. Indigo is the Education and Outreach Coordinator at Conservation Consultants, Inc. Grace has already completed the task of refurbishing the stars placed in strategic spots throughout the building that are part of the scavenger hunt visiting students enjoy during their visit. She also prepared the flyer Indigo used for a teacher workshop on October 10, "Building on Student Success", which included a chance to tour a non-school site. Besides helping with parking and acting as a "go-for", she spoke at the session about City High's project on recycling and using recycled paper, ink cartridges, and printing pages on both sides. She created a hand-drawn poster on tips for reducing waste and saving energy, and she produced a brochure on the Green Education Movement. Grace is preparing a "Pittsburgh Guide" for cleaner, better communities by contacting organizations and agencies that would be helpful. Then she will set up a database of neighborhood resources under various topics related to conservation. She is using her experiences for planning her senior project and for deciding her career goals for college.

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"We adore him!" was the comment made by Diane Nutting of intern, Sean Green. Diane is the Director of Education at City Theatre on the South Side. Through her, Sean met Tony Ferreri, the resident set designer and Director of Production, and Prop Master, Louise Phetteplace. He has spent many hours with them preparing props for several plays. Sean was described as meticulous, talented, and detail-oriented with fantastic energy. For the play "Crowns", he worked with Tony and another designer on a stained glass window that took 40 man hours to complete. It was so realistic that no one would guess that it was a prop. He is shown in the picture working on a Harry Potter-type wand for one of the Young Playwrights plays produced at City Theatre. When there is some lag time, Sean's expertise on the computer is used to update a database of vendors, artists and contacts for the theater. He is working on a catalog reference library of vendors by materials, objects and categories. Then he will produce an index of all catalogues in alphabetical order. He is updating the calendar of play dates and other important pieces of information on a master calendar for easier reference. He has attended production meetings and learned how to process invoices on deliveries. Sean has years of experience acting in plays, but now he has learned a great deal about the vital behind-the-scenes management of the theater.

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The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is a busy place, even more so now with the natural disasters and unemployment that have affected our area. The Food Bank always needs volunteers to process donations, but also to prepare marketing campaigns to encourage new donors and volunteers to help them offer help to the needy. AJ Clifton chose to do his internship there to learn more about a career in marketing, and he has offered them his skills to produce needed materials for their work. Wendy Lachendro and Julia Reder, shown in the picture with AJ, say that he is terrific, easy to work with, flexible, and a nice dresser. He created an advertising flyer that they used for items that were not moving at the food bank. He had to use their specific codes for processing items, but he also devised catchy phrases to encourage interest in the products. He also worked on a public relations assignment for Sara Lee products. The women said that he is observant and does anything he is asked to do, including general clerical tasks. He has done data entry work for them, filling in information for pre-donation forms used for standard donors on a regular basis. AJ's trip to the Food Bank on a bus takes an hour each day, but he has maintained good attendance and arrives with a smile on his face to greet everyone.

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10,000 Villages, a unique shop in Squirrel Hill that offers international items at fair trade prices, is the site of Vince Chandler's internship. It is run with the assistance of many volunteers, and that is where Vince began his experience. He finished his volunteer training and is now a sales associate for the store. In addition, he created a game for this training, using laminated playing cards to familiarize the new volunteers with the merchandise in the store. His mentor, Sally Yunis, took the game to the regional managers' meeting and impressed everyone with this innovation. He is now working on a Power Point presentation explaining the concept of "Fair Trade" that can be used as an educational tool at community presentations. He used research he did on the Internet, and the store manager, Diane Knowles, for his sources. Vince may also prepare a video on the protocols of customer service for future training sessions. When the new "10,000 Villages" opens at the YWCA on Wood Street, he will work there one day a week, learning to open packages carefully and merchandising the new items. Sally praised his professional behavior, even when his friends dropped in for a visit. He interacts well with all of the volunteers and has maintained great attendance. Vince said that he really enjoys the internship and working with customers. His favorite items in the store are a "didge" from Indonesia and all of the turtles from various countries.

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Terrilyn Crouch, Coordinator of Group Volunteers at Children's Hospital, has known Brandi Lee since she worked with her at Rooney Middle School. She described Brandi as delightful, an intern who "rolls with everything". She works Mondays and Wednesdays in the same-day surgery Child Life Department, preparing crafts to occupy patients as they wait. On Tuesdays she can be found in the Employee Health Office, and Thursdays and Fridays are earmarked for Neurology, where she puts charts together, and files. One day there was a training session planned, and no one had prepared the 40 information packets. Brandi got to work, copying, collating and stuffing folders in time for the meeting. Terri is working on arranging a visit to the Ear Nose & Throat Department and possibly a surgery. Brandi said that she is enjoying her internship and learning a lot about working in a hospital.

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Calvin Porch is a valuable intern for the 2nd East Hills Community Center. He works in their new activity center, where they have a computer room for residents and their children to learn new skills. He also shows staff how to do things on the computer and is a very patient teacher. So far Calvin has created a web page for the community center and flyers for their activities. Monique Shorter, the Youth Director, appreciates his interaction with the after-school program, and said that he is a wonderful role-model for the students, especially by his neat appearance. Ms. Shorter’s goal is to have their young students able to do their own flyers and other projects. Calvin has helped Claudia Wells, the President of the Tenant Council, with databases and flyers. Cheryl Lynn Mehalic, the site Manager of the complex, said that his presence is a benefit to the young men who interact with him. He is always pleasant and smiling, working at their level. He stated that his internship has been a good experience and worth the hour-long trip each way to get to the center!

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What three qualities would a mentor desire in an ideal intern from City High? This person should be ambitious, thorough, and always willing to learn. These are the terms Natisha Frye of the Pittsburgh Regional Minority Purchasing Council used to describe her current intern, Adrienne Stevenson. At this time of year the office is preparing for their annual gala which means that Adrienne has become a bulk mail expert. She has made corrections to the mailing list database, and Natisha says that "she multitasks very well!" She has also been asked to do research on major corporations in the area for a recruitment campaign planned by the Minority Purchasing Council. Everyone at the PRMPC says that their intern is very pleasant to be around. Adrienne stated that "It has been an eye-opening experience", learning new things, and seeing how business is conducted.

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A new site for medical internships for City High students is the pediatrics ward at West Penn Hospital. This trimester Temerse Luckett and Lauren Bivins are interning there. Both girls have expressed a career interest in that area, and their mentor, Lisa Graper, Manager of the Neonatal Intersive Care Unit, has been providing them with opportunities to experience the busy world of babies. Temerse began working with Dina Boyd, the Manager of the Pediatric and Adolescent Department, who is currently on maternity leave. Lisa Graper began as Lauren's mentor and has now taken Temerse under her wing. Temerse Luckett has already seen a C-section delivery. She rocks ISAM babies (Infants of Substance Abusing Mothers) who need to be held, has spent time with the Social Worker, the unit secretary, and a respiratory therapist. She also sat in rounds with a physician. Temerse has a set routine for clerical work sheeting charts. Lisa described her as very curious about everything, assertive in getting the most out of her experiences, and eager to get to work. Her favorite experiences have been the delivery and holding babies.

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Lauren Bivins is quiet, sweet, helpful and competent when given a task. She shows that she understands how important it is to do everything accurately and well in the hospital. She has done office work, learning how the hospital copy center operates; she created a cover for a project, and has learned to answer the phones in a clear, audible voice and to transfer calls. Her favorite experiences so far have been rocking ISAM babies, as shown in her picture, and seeing Upper GI x-rays in Radiology . She has also changed diapers and learned safety procedures for working in a hospital. Lauren sat in on a consultation with a Social Worker and will see a delivery at some point in her internship.

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Mike Madden has been involved in robotics since Middle School when he was on a team for the First Lego League competition held at the National Robotics Engineering Consortium in Lawrenceville. He is now an intern there, working with Norman Kerman, the Educational Coordinator of the Robotics Academy. They are preparing for this year's competition on December 3. This includes assembling 24 of the 25 sets of parts for the robots, and preparing 25 playing fields to accommodate the 72 teams of middle school students registered for the competition. He is hard-working, reliable, and experienced from his own former LEGO activities. This enables him to work independently, which is an asset to Mr. Kerman in preparing for the upcoming events.

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The Discovery Room, Bogs Science Investigation Lab and the Bone Hunters Quarry are interesting and challenging places for Katie Linkhauer to explore during her internship at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Her mentor, Beth Chatham, has described Katie, her Educational Assistant, as willing to do anything, flexible, on time or early every day. She explains safety methods to the visitors at the Bone Hunters Quarry, an permanent exhibit at the museum . In the Bogs Science Lab, she assists people in mock forensic cases. Beth, who is a Program Assistant of Visitor Services, has encouraged her to explore the museum to familiarize herself with the wealth of information and experiences there. Later Katie might choose to train as a teen docent at the museum and continue the work she began as an intern. On Thursdays she may be working with the graphics design department, another of her career interests.

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Jessica Jenkins began her internship immersed in a project that culminated in an evening program at the Pittsburgh Hilton on September 21. Jess is an intern for Mary Ann Eisenreich, the Executive Director of PA Women Work!, a non-profit organization founded in 1994 to promote and ensure the economic self-sufficiency of PA's single parents and displaced homemakers, and to advocate for education and economic equity for all women. The organization's fund-raiser was titled "Expanding the Circle of Hope", which recognized Bill & Carolyn Byham for their support of PAWW! In the picture they are standing in front of a table of "Silent Auction" items available for bids. Jess really enjoys working with Mary Ann and her assistant, Debbie, and they have nothing but praise for her work. Mary Ann is so happy to have Jess working in the office that she has asked for an intern every trimester!

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PCTV began with Warner Cable in the 1980's to give non-profit organizations access to TV for broadcasting their events, etc. A staff of seven at the site on Western Avenue is now the only one of the five original sites that provides this opportunity.

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Kris Hicks and Joel Gibbs are the current pair of interns there, working with Kurt Haverstock, the Production Supervisor and the Internship Supervisor. These young men will be expected to assist with all production, including operation of cameras, production switcher, audio board, studio microphones, lighting, and graphic production. There are currently interns from PTI and Duquesne University also learning the ropes from Kurt. Kris and Joel will also experience remote production on special project activities outside the studio and in the editing process with staff and producers. In October, they will do a broadcast from the Sci-Tech Festival at the Carnegie Science Center. Kurt says they are conscientious and willing to learn. He prefers their positive attitude over technical skills because the technical will be learned as they go. He is pleased to have a great pair of interns once again.

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Sandy Welsh, Director of Tech PA at the downtown YMCA, has her third intern, Marcus Day. She described him as quiet, no-nonsense, enthusiastic, and always on time. He even stays late quite a bit, repairing and cleaning hard drives, reviewing with Steve Reffert the Word Office program that will be loaded on the computers, and in general refurbishing computers that were given to Tech PA by the Federal government to be given to community organizations. Marcus has built a computer from scratch, and has loaded A+ course ware . He imaged 12 computers in three hours, which impressed Ms. Welsh and Marcus' co-workers. He is proactive in finding work to do, including recording the serial numbers of each computer in Excel and organizing the files for Sandy for her reports. He likes working with the hardware side of the computer, and for his final exercise, he will go to the warehouse, assemble a computer with the hardware following instructions, and then he will take it home. Marcus is shown in the picture with Sandy and Steve, two great mentors for City High students.

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