Senior Sophie Tahir designs a graphic for her work-based learning internship on Sept. 12. Tahir said the internship has bolstered her interest in business and exposed her to various marketing positions she might be interested in.

As the 2025-2026 school year begins, Superintendent Tom Oestreich said administration has been expanding the work-based learning program to give students more exposure to careers.

“Over the last three years, we’ve doubled the number of students each year that are in the program. (The program) is going exceedingly well and I credit Mr. Wesley Drew, Mr. Richard Reid, and Mr. Bradley Sever for all of their work really engaging with the community and trying to find those opportunities for our students,” Oestreich said. “At the City of Carmel popup, I talked to the fire chief and he shared with me that he’s excited because they have a student at the Carmel Fire Department who’s not just learning about firefighting, but all the different jobs within the fire department. And that’s true for all of our students at IU Health or St. Vincent hospitals, they’re learning about nursing or the medical field, but there are so many jobs within (the hospitals) that expand their horizons.”

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 also nice to be able to get paid to work as a highschooler.”

Oestreich said internships, like Tahir’s, can inform students about all of the possible careers in a field that they previously were uninformed about.

“Right now, your parents or family members may do a job and they tell you about it, but it’s a very narrow view. So what work-based learning does is it opens up that viewpoint and (students) might find a job they love and have never thought of before,” Oestreich said. By Mahitha Konjeti