What is EIP

  • EIP - Experience is the Key

    What is the Executive Internship Program?

    Intern_SulllivanThe Executive High School Internship program (EHSI) originated in New York City, in 1971. Since that beginning, a variety of program models and concepts have been administered and promoted by the Executive High School Internship Association of America (EHSIA), and continue to be nationally recognized. The Executive Internship Program, after a year of planning, implemented the program in Pinellas County, Florida, in 1974.

    The Executive Internship Program (EIP) embodies some of the best elements of both traditional and contemporary approaches to education. EIP is a marriage of the theoretical and the practical, combining the best elements of classroom theory with actual experience in the world of professionals; it is academically oriented education based on experience.

    Through the Executive Internship Program, students are coached and mentored academically and experientially in developing skills which promote self-directed learning, self-awareness, goal setting, creative problem solving, and cross cultural sensitivity. EIP provides a strong response to the present-day search for expanded educational options.
     
     
    What is the role of an Intern (student)?
       
    The Executive Internship Program enables high school students to gain experience and expertise in particular professions. Selected students spend 10-15 hours per week with their sponsors and undertake activities that provide comprehensive views of organizations that focus on the sponsors' professional roles, responsibilities, and functions. Students become knowledgeable about the organization's long range company priorities and how decisions are made about those priorities. Students learn to seek insight into the qualities, skills and knowledge that help professionals perform effectively.
     
     
    The serious educational nature of EIP requires students to fulfill academically oriented assignments, participate in seminars, demonstrate and reflect upon learning, and participate in self and program evaluations.  Through this experience, students will:
    • Acquire expertise and experience in a chosen profession through direct exposure to organizational structures, policies, and environments.
    • Learn the value of positive interaction and public relations.
    • Obtain a realistic view of the professional world.
    • Learn to recognize and evaluate the personal characteristics and personal skills essential to professional success.
    • Recognize the importance of taking initiative to make an experience worthwhile and seek challenges beyond the workplace and the academic setting in preparation for future success.
    Interns_Career_Fair

    What is the role of the Sponsor? 
    Sponsors provide students an unpaid internship experience which is broadly educational in scope, supportive of the program's goals and purpose, and directed toward providing students with a comprehensive understanding of how the organization functions.  Through this experience, sponsors may:
    •      Share their professional experiences and successes.
    •      Show their commitment to the community.
    •      Become positive influences in interns' lives.
    •      Identify future talent and train students as potential employees.
     
    Why should a school district implement an Executive Internship Program?
    The benefits to a school and a district who hosts an Executive Internship Program are many, including those outlined below.
    • Students are prepared to become community leaders and positive representatives of the school district.
    • Positive relationships are developed between the school and the business community.
    • The district gains exposure to the community.
    • Students become positive representatives of today's youth within the professional setting and return to school as positive role models for other students.
    • Because many students in the professional setting are exposed to high technology, they can demonstrate the skills necessary for success in the work world.
    Celebrating Program Excellence
    Since 1974