A Unique and Valuable Experience for Driven High School Students - Virtual Internships Foundations Program

When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit in 2020 and halted all travel plans, I found myself with an abundance of free time having finished the school year in June. While I could have stayed in my room all summer playing video games and watching TV, I instead chose to look into the possibility of completing an internship. Being in high school at the time and having had little relevant job experience, I was doubtful of the possibility of finding an internship over the summer. Luckily, I managed to find the Virtual Internships Foundations Program: a four-week online internship for driven high school students looking to gain valuable skills, knowledge, and exposure to their desired industry.

While initially a bit dubious of the internship's emphasis on teamwork, by the end of the four weeks, I realized how valuable this was as I was working with like-minded high school students of a similar driven nature. Not only was I able to network with students who were also considering careers in the business/finance sector, but I also received valuable, detailed, and specific feedback from both my host company (B Atomic: an e-insurance company) and program advisors on the quality of my team's work. Despite not having taken any business classes in high school, I was trained in areas such as marketing, brand management, HR, project management, and more which put me in good stead for starting my business degree at university. Finally, a key component of the program was guidance on resume writing, interview etiquette, and career management: all imperative skills when entering the workforce. Overall, this experience provided me the opportunity to network with like-minded people, learn about my industry of interest, produce high-quality, hands-on work, and gain an advantage over competitive first year university business students looking for employment. I would without doubt recommend Virtual Internships to those driven students looking to develop their soft skills, meet like-minded individuals, and learn about their industry of interest.