PrepareRI internship opportunity gets seniors ready for real-world careers

By JEN COWART
Posted 1/8/20

By JEN COWART Special to the Herald Editor's note: This story is part of an occasional series highlighting senior interns in Cranston Public Schools. Ariana Pimental is a senior in the Entrepreneurship program at the Cranston Area Career & Technical

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PrepareRI internship opportunity gets seniors ready for real-world careers

Posted

Special to the Herald

Editor’s note: This story is part of an occasional series highlighting senior interns in Cranston Public Schools.

Ariana Pimental is a senior in the Entrepreneurship program at the Cranston Area Career & Technical Center. This past summer, she had the opportunity to apply for a PrepareRI internship through the Rhode Island Department of Education.

“I filled out their online application during my junior year and once that was accepted, I was asked to participate in a group interview at school,” Pimental said. “After the group interview I had a one-on-one interview with a potential employer. It was for a job with Citizens Bank in their Learning Development Department. It was the first formal, professional interview experience I have had. Before that, my only interview was for a job at Dunkin’ Donuts. It was nerve-racking but fun.”

The PrepareRI application and initial interview process prior to a one-on-one interview helps to match students with potential employers that match their career interests.

Once offered the paid internship with Citizens Bank, Pimental progressed to the next step – a one-week Boot Camp that preceded the start of the internship on July 8.

“I worked all summer, every day from July 8 to Aug. 23, five days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it was a paid internship. I was paid $11.25 an hour,” she said. “I had my own desk and my own laptop. I helped out with a lot of new projects and I helped my colleagues at Citizens Bank grow in their careers. I went to a lot of in-person meetings, online meetings, did research, made presentations, edited presentations, and I worked with programs like Microsoft Excel and Word.”

Pimental found the experiences that she’d already had in her Entrepreneurship program to have prepared her for her Citizens Bank internship.

“I definitely used my skills with Microsoft, and definitely my communication and presentation skills that we use in DECA in our presentations,” she said. “Presenting in front of judges helped me to talk to people in higher positions at Citizens. I was one of 15 interns in all different departments. We had the chance to have lunch with some of the executives and ask them questions. We heard a lot of success stories. We also did a lot of community service through Citizens.”

Pimental received college credits from Rhode Island College for her internship and was required to keep a daily log and a weekly log for PrepareRI. She is also eligible for a college scholarship from Johnson & Wales University, another partner in the initiative.

“I liked the environment a lot and I have the opportunity to go back and work there in the future,” she said. “After my senior year, I definitely want to attend Johnson & Wales and major in fashion merchandising. I’d like to go into management and be a merchandiser or a buyer in the industry.”

Pimental encourages others to consider the PrepareRI internship opportunity.

“It really helped open my eyes to what I like and what I’m interested in,” she said. “It was a great opportunity.”

To learn more, visit prepare-ri.org/internships.

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