12 area high school seniors graduate from Sanford Health internship programs

Twelve high school seniors “graduated” from their Sanford Health internship programs Wednesday afternoon, after each putting in 100 hours of work in everywhere from the cardiology unit to construction.

The students from Harrisburg High School, Tea Area and the Career and Technical Education Academy gave presentations on their internships Wednesday. The schools partner with Sanford Health to offer the program.

These students are the fifth cohort of high school interns from Sanford, which started with the first group in the fall of 2019.

Avery Damron, a senior at Harrisburg High School, completed a CNA program through Southeast Technical College before her internship on the cardiology floor of the hospital this fall. She plans to attend Augustana University to get her bachelor of science in nursing after high school.

Damron said her cardiology internship was one of the best experiences she’s ever had, and that she learned more about how to make patients comfortable as well as necessary career skills like taking vitals, blood pressure, cleaning rooms and feeding patients.

“I met so many incredible people that have taught me so many valuable things inside a hospital and out that I can use and put forth in my future career,” she said. “I think that’s something that every student should be exposed to. It teaches so many different morals.”

Blake Hammer, a senior who attends the CTE Academy, served as a CNA at Good Samaritan Society’s Sioux Falls Village this fall where he worked in the rehab unit with patients who were going through major life changes, he said.

His internship with dual-credit opportunities will help him start LPN-specific coursework at STC next semester as a senior in high school in hopes of becoming an RN as soon as possible.

Before the internship, ”I’d only worked in dietary and nursing, I hadn’t seen any other aspects of long-term care,” he said. “I got to precept with some different healthcare professionals: social workers, managers, therapists. I got to see all the different running parts of long-term care fit together into one cohesive unit, which is really cool.”

Jonah Dancsisin, a senior at HHS, is the first high school “non-clinical” intern and worked with Sanford’s planning and construction team. Last summer, he worked with a different construction company out in the field on a project, but on Wednesdays this semester, he worked in an office at Sanford with a project manager.

“Here, I came and I saw the whole other side of it, from the owner’s perspective and the management side of it,” he said. “I learned everything about the process from having a project idea until really starting the project, and making sure it gets done right and on time.”

These internships help students better inform decisions they make about what they’ll do after high school, said Linda Heerde, director of learning and development at Sanford Health and a school board member in Harrisburg.

“We are really trying to help students understand that at Sanford, we have any career under the sun that you can possibly think about,” she said.

Each of the students are in an internship course at school that gives them credit for their work, in addition to the internships being paid. A liaison with Sanford helps the students determine when their 100 hours of internship time will be during the semester. Heerde said students can intern in either the fall or spring semester cohorts.

The program gives the students a work-based learning experience, and Heerde said it’s one way to help fill the workforce shortage occurring across most industries in the U.S.

Representatives from Sanford, Good Samaritan Society and the students’ teachers, family and friends attended the students’ ceremony, which included speakers and short presentations from each of the interns on their experience.

Renae Oines, a career coach and certified school counselor at the CTE Academy, congratulated the students on finding their place and for being brave enough to leave the classroom. Their first grade teachers would be proud to see how far they’ve come, she said.

Kelly Hefti, vice president of nursing and clinical services at Sanford, said their internship experience will also look good on their resumes and college applications.