Superintendent Tom Oestreich smiles in a conference room on Jan. 15. Oestreich said the work-based learning internship program has made working more accessible to more students.

As the second semester of the 2025-2026 school year begins, Superintendent Tom Oestreich said the pathways programs allow for students to get career opportunities and internships experiences.

“We’ve been expanding the opportunities for our freshmen to get involved and get involved earlier. When you’re looking at students who are taking the different pathways classes, they have more opportunities to get internships as seniors,” Oestreich said. “We have people at accounting firms, finance firms and at IU Health. There’s so many opportunities now and (the pathways program) increases the likelihood of seniors getting internships.”

Senior Sophie Tahir said her work-based learning internship is allowing her to explore a potential career path early in life while getting paid.

“I work as a marketing intern at Utilicast and I’ve really been enjoying my time working so far,” Tahir said. “I’ve always been interested in business and marketing, so the internship has been giving me insight into the field and certain things I want and don’t want in a career. It’s allowed me to actually contribute to a workplace and do meaningful work. It’s also nice to be able to get paid to work as a highschooler.”

Oestreich said the internships available to CHS students are different from other internships because students get to solve problems and get to be actual employees.

“The difference in internships at Carmel High School is that they are high-quality internships. We’re not just saying ‘alright students you’re going to go out there with no support,’ Mr. Reid and Mr. Drew are constantly communicating with employers, so much so that our students are enriching the community because a majority of the internships are paid and (employers) see the great work our students are doing and they offer them additional opportunities,” Oestreich said. “So (the students) can start working on weekends, during the summer, and some employers will even pay our students to go to school so they can come back and be employed by that organization in the future. So the sky’s the limit with our internship program.” By Mahitha Konjeti