All students complete a minimum of 60 hours per semester during the junior year and the first semester of the senior year, and 75 hours during the second semester of the senior year in an internship of their choosing which is related to their career pathway.

The Service Learning/Career Pathway is a continuum along which GMCHS students progress as they become more directly connected with the world of work. The goal is that they will ultimately be engaged in a paid or unpaid internship related as nearly as possible to their identified career pathway. Some students enter the program at the end of this continuum: one student who is interested in a career as an actor had three paid positions his first semester. Other students may not solidify their career interests for many years after graduation from high school, or even from college.

Students begin by identifying short- and long-term educational, work and career goals. They then pursue placements which relate as nearly as possible to those goals. One student volunteered at the on-campus Child Care Center where her infant daughter was placed. Several others learned about the inner workings of the library volunteering in the Learning Resource Center and another student interested in science worked in the physics lab. A student interested in the law might work as a receptionist in a law office, volunteer for a candidate running for election, or intern in a government office. Learning basic, transferable workplace skills such as punctuality and reliability are within each student’s grasp.

Because of the unique nature of this course, and of our school and our students, decisions regarding the appropriateness of each placement are made on an individualized, one-on-one basis.