{"id":99314,"date":"2025-08-14T11:36:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T15:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=99314"},"modified":"2025-10-29T12:15:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T16:15:32","slug":"my-student-experience-students-gain-hands-on-experience-with-k-12-students-through-summer-internship-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/14\/my-student-experience-students-gain-hands-on-experience-with-k-12-students-through-summer-internship-program\/","title":{"rendered":"My Student Experience: Students Gain Hands-on Experience with K-12 Students through Summer Internship Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Three students in NC State\u2019s College of Education had the opportunity to return to their communities this summer to work with K-12 students through the College of Education Summer Internship Program<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established in memory of Chantal Warfield, a May 2019 graduate who died in a car accident in October 2019, the competitive, five-week Summer Internship Program provides participating students with financial support to serve as an intern at an organization that supports education in a high-needs community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read about the internship experiences the participating students had in the pieces below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calise Coleman<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Calise Coleman, an elementary education<\/a> major, spent her summer interning at the Robin Page Boys and Girls Club in Lillington, North Carolina. She worked with K-5 students to help prevent summer reading loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her internship, Coleman supported students\u2019 literacy development through one-on-one reading sessions and small-group instruction as well as assisting students with what the club called \u201cbrain gain\u201d activities, which included reading books, writing summaries and engaging with educational media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the youngest participants, Coleman also focused on beginning literacy skills, including letter recognition and phonemic awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs someone preparing for a career in education, I saw this as a valuable opportunity to practice what I\u2019ve learned in my coursework and to begin forming the kinds of relationships I\u2019ll need as a classroom teacher,\u201d she said. \u201cThe focus on literacy development also aligned perfectly with my passion for early reading support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building relationships as she worked closely with students in her community, Coleman said, was one of her favorite parts of her internship experience. She felt proud to know she played a part in the way students became more confident in their reading abilities and learned valuable lessons about meeting students where they are, on both an emotional and academic level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInternships like this are essential for education majors because they allow us to bridge the gap between theory and practice,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing in a real-world learning environment taught me things I couldn\u2019t learn in a classroom alone, like individualized classroom management strategies, relationship-building and responding to students\u2019 individual needs in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moriah Hollar<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Moriah Hollar, an elementary education<\/a> major, completed her internship at two host sites this summer: the first at Oxford Elementary School as part of the Catawba County Summer Reading Program and the second at the Concordia Christian Day School Summer Camp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInternship opportunities are so important for education majors because you can learn textbook information in class all day long, but the best experience for future educators is and always will be classroom immersion,\u201d Hollar said. \u201cNothing will replace being in the classroom and being able to physically interact with the kids. Observing and learning tips and tricks from veteran teachers based on trial and error is incredible life experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her time at Oxford Elementary, Hollar was paired with a mentor teacher who was working with rising third graders on reading, writing, and grammar and was able to observe instruction time and help lead small-group tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her experience at the elementary school, she said she learned valuable lessons about being patient, understanding each child’s learning needs, and helping students stay engaged and on-task. She also was excited to help facilitate social interactions between her young students during break times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis internship granted me more hands-on experiences in the classroom, which is definitely beneficial towards my future career,\u201d Hollar said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her time at the summer camp, Hollar led the children through various games while helping to teach life skills including teamwork, sportsmanship and good manners. The experience helped her learn conflict management between students, how to improvise when things didn\u2019t go according to plan and how to balance being authoritative while also facilitating fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really enjoy getting to know and having fun with the kids; seeing their creativity and imaginations run wild and how they navigate friendships and challenges amongst each other is truly fascinating,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrey Urena-Secena<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Andrey Urena-Secena, a science education<\/a> major, worked with students from elementary through high school through an internship experience split between two summer camps in his hometown of Siler City, North Carolina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to his former high school \u2014 Jordan-Matthews High School\u2014 Urena-Secena\u2019s internship at the first site had him serving as a mentor to students from kindergarten through eighth grade as they played different sports each week. At the internship at the second site, the Hispanic Liaison, Urena-Seneca co-created a curriculum to help mitigate the \u201csummer slide\u201d by focusing on seven subjects, including math, biology and history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just wanted to make sure I get experience with students of all ages, even if I\u2019m going to only teach high school once I graduate,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A soon-to-be fourth-generation educator, Urena-Seneca has fond memories of time spent in his father\u2019s classroom and has also seen the shortage of teachers that persists in his hometown, both of which contributed to his desire to pursue a career in education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His summer internship experience, he said, helped drive home the idea that education is a group effort as he witnessed how different departments come together to create a space for students to learn, how budgets are allocated and how community partners can contribute to education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, [the internship] is not just about getting experience, it\u2019s about getting different types of experience,\u201d Urena-Seneca said. \u201cThe more I put myself in different environments, the more I learn to adapt; I get to think and do more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n

Three students in NC State\u2019s College of Education had the opportunity to return to their communities this summer to work with K-12 students through the College of Education Summer Internship Program<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established in memory of Chantal Warfield, a May 2019 graduate who died in a car accident in October 2019, the competitive, five-week Summer Internship Program provides participating students with financial support to serve as an intern at an organization that supports education in a high-needs community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read about the internship experiences the participating students had in the pieces below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calise Coleman<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Calise Coleman, an elementary education<\/a> major, spent her summer interning at the Robin Page Boys and Girls Club in Lillington, North Carolina. She worked with K-5 students to help prevent summer reading loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her internship, Coleman supported students\u2019 literacy development through one-on-one reading sessions and small-group instruction as well as assisting students with what the club called \u201cbrain gain\u201d activities, which included reading books, writing summaries and engaging with educational media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the youngest participants, Coleman also focused on beginning literacy skills, including letter recognition and phonemic awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs someone preparing for a career in education, I saw this as a valuable opportunity to practice what I\u2019ve learned in my coursework and to begin forming the kinds of relationships I\u2019ll need as a classroom teacher,\u201d she said. \u201cThe focus on literacy development also aligned perfectly with my passion for early reading support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building relationships as she worked closely with students in her community, Coleman said, was one of her favorite parts of her internship experience. She felt proud to know she played a part in the way students became more confident in their reading abilities and learned valuable lessons about meeting students where they are, on both an emotional and academic level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInternships like this are essential for education majors because they allow us to bridge the gap between theory and practice,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing in a real-world learning environment taught me things I couldn\u2019t learn in a classroom alone, like individualized classroom management strategies, relationship-building and responding to students\u2019 individual needs in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moriah Hollar<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Moriah Hollar, an elementary education<\/a> major, completed her internship at two host sites this summer: the first at Oxford Elementary School as part of the Catawba County Summer Reading Program and the second at the Concordia Christian Day School Summer Camp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInternship opportunities are so important for education majors because you can learn textbook information in class all day long, but the best experience for future educators is and always will be classroom immersion,\u201d Hollar said. \u201cNothing will replace being in the classroom and being able to physically interact with the kids. Observing and learning tips and tricks from veteran teachers based on trial and error is incredible life experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her time at Oxford Elementary, Hollar was paired with a mentor teacher who was working with rising third graders on reading, writing, and grammar and was able to observe instruction time and help lead small-group tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her experience at the elementary school, she said she learned valuable lessons about being patient, understanding each child's learning needs, and helping students stay engaged and on-task. She also was excited to help facilitate social interactions between her young students during break times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis internship granted me more hands-on experiences in the classroom, which is definitely beneficial towards my future career,\u201d Hollar said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her time at the summer camp, Hollar led the children through various games while helping to teach life skills including teamwork, sportsmanship and good manners. The experience helped her learn conflict management between students, how to improvise when things didn\u2019t go according to plan and how to balance being authoritative while also facilitating fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really enjoy getting to know and having fun with the kids; seeing their creativity and imaginations run wild and how they navigate friendships and challenges amongst each other is truly fascinating,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrey Urena-Secena<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Andrey Urena-Secena, a science education<\/a> major, worked with students from elementary through high school through an internship experience split between two summer camps in his hometown of Siler City, North Carolina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to his former high school \u2014 Jordan-Matthews High School\u2014 Urena-Secena\u2019s internship at the first site had him serving as a mentor to students from kindergarten through eighth grade as they played different sports each week. At the internship at the second site, the Hispanic Liaison, Urena-Seneca co-created a curriculum to help mitigate the \u201csummer slide\u201d by focusing on seven subjects, including math, biology and history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just wanted to make sure I get experience with students of all ages, even if I\u2019m going to only teach high school once I graduate,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A soon-to-be fourth-generation educator, Urena-Seneca has fond memories of time spent in his father\u2019s classroom and has also seen the shortage of teachers that persists in his hometown, both of which contributed to his desire to pursue a career in education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His summer internship experience, he said, helped drive home the idea that education is a group effort as he witnessed how different departments come together to create a space for students to learn, how budgets are allocated and how community partners can contribute to education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, [the internship] is not just about getting experience, it\u2019s about getting different types of experience,\u201d Urena-Seneca said. \u201cThe more I put myself in different environments, the more I learn to adapt; I get to think and do more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three students in NC State\u2019s College of Education had opportunities to return to their communities this summer to work with K-12 students through the College of Education Summer Internship Program. Learn more about their experiences. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54576,"featured_media":51520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"displayCategoryID\":185,\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[439,185,205],"tags":[238,270,217,239,189,187,771,2122],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-99314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-and-engagement","category-news","category-our-people","tag-elementary-education","tag-homepage-news","tag-news","tag-science-education","tag-stem-ed","tag-tels","tag-undergraduate-students","tag-why-gifts-matter"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":185,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":185,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":2318,"filter":"raw"},"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54576"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99314"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100145,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99314\/revisions\/100145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99314"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=99314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}