VOA慢速英语--Program Offers Job Experience, Pay for High Schoolers

Program Offers Job Experience, Pay for High Schoolers

At the start of the school year, Aelina Pogosian could not wait to tell her friends about the most interesting thing she had done over the summer.

The 16-year-old did not want to talk about a trip she took somewhere. She wanted to talk about a paid internship¹ that she had at a biology laboratory at Montgomery College in Maryland.

The internship was made possible by the RISE program, which gives real job experience to high school students in Montgomery County.

“A lot of the materials and machinery² we used is not given at most high schools,” Pogosian said. She added, “I got to learn a lot at the same time I was able to have a lot of fun. And I met some new people.”

Jennifer Sengbusch is the Instructional Lab Coordinator³ who worked with Pogosian. She said her first task is to teach the high schoolers about safety rules to avoid injury.

She said, “We also went through working with chemicals, making solutions, doing calculations. Then we progressed into doing more complicated things (such) as measuring protein concentrations and doing DNA⁴ tests.”

The internship was not just about tests in the laboratory. There also was training in how to take care of animals, such as snakes and tortoises, kept in the lab.

RISE program gives real job experience

More than 400 students from Montgomery County’s 25 high schools took part in the RISE program.

RISE stands for Real Interesting Summer Experience. The “experiences” may be at construction companies, police stations, marketing⁵ companies, fire stations and other places. More than 140 businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations hosted students for paid internships.

Will Jawando, a local activist⁶, is the program's director. He says RISE has two main goals: “The first goal is to expose our students to career opportunities early on so they can inform their education or training after high school.”

The second goal is improving the local economy.

“We said there's 30,000 middle-skill level jobs here in Montgomery County that are not filled. So how do we also expose them to that there's jobs here in the county that they could be doing in a year or two that pay well and are on career track.”

He said the program does not only benefits the students. It can also help the county and the region. If students involved in the program stay in the area after graduating from high school, they can become productive citizens.

Local government supports the program

The program received some support from the Montgomery County Council. Councilman Craig Rice helped provide some of the money.

Rice said that, while government often pays attention to immediate⁷ needs like roads and building, the RISE program provides for future generations. He said spending money on young people is a way to show that government is serious about being competitive in the world.

Sengbusch said RISE gave her the chance to work with high school student who might apply to Montgomery College. She described the students as curious and eager to learn.

She said high schoolers might be more “inquisitive⁸” than college students. She said, “The high school students really ask a lot of great questions."

Pogosian, she said, was engaged and always on time. She noted⁹ that she was surprised to learn that the 16-year-old arrived an hour early just to make sure she would be on time, saying ‘I just didn’t want to be late.’

Organizers say the RISE program had a successful summer in 2017. They want to expand the program next year. They also hope that other counties in the area will offer similar Real Interesting Summer Experiences for their students.

I’m Anna Mateo. And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

calculations –n. the process of using math to find an answer

internships –n. a position meant to give a young person experience in doing a job

career –n. a job or profession that someone does over a long time

benefit –v. to cause a good result

curious –adj. having an interest in find out new things

eager –adj. being excited and interested to do something

inquisitive –adj. having many questions, interested in finding out more

engaged –adj. involved in something deeply

1 internship   

n.实习医师，实习医师期

参考例句：

• an internship at a television station 在电视台的实习期
• a summer internship with a small stipend 薪水微薄的暑期实习

2 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 inquisitive   

adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的

参考例句：

• Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
• A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。