HILARY HOSIA
At week three of the Marshall Islands High School (MIHS)’s practicum program, students in the program have already warmed up to their temporary work sites.
The 17 seniors assisting in various departments at National Telecommunication Authority can attest to this. “We learned how to do wirings and understand how wiring works,” said students tasked with the IT department of NTA.
The other students said they enjoyed getting down and dirty changing tires and working the vehicle engines of the company vehicles. “For us,” said a group of young women, “we learned how to edit photos using photoshop.”
NTA staff spoke highly of the students and were amazed at how they easily picked up on the daily work.
The practicum curriculum runs for eight weeks and is required to graduate. There are a total of 212 seniors, most of whom are working in government or non-government sites, which includes the private sector.
“Not all students participate in the after school program though,” said MIHS President Wilmer Joel. Wilmer says there is a small number of students, around 30 or so that did not meet the requirements for practicum. Attendance and GPA is a factor in practicum involvement. The seniors not in practicum continue taking classes while the rest are out and about in the afternoons several days each week.