Baldwin High School senior shares experiences as an intern at Long Island Jewish Hospital

As the final months of school gradually approach, it’s safe to say that Baldwin Senior High School’s seniors are eager to throw up their graduation caps while shouting to the sky with glee.

However, before that takes place, students spend a good portion of their senior year applying to and being accepted into various colleges. Some students are lucky enough to gain acceptance into their top choices, while others are forced to settle. This result depends largely on how well a student has prepared for the application process, whether the student is aware of what he or she wants to do in the future, and what the student has done to prepare for those aspirations while in high school.

Luckily for the students of BSHS, an internship program is provided for eligible seniors as a way to explore potential careers first-hand. Senior Internship is offered as a class in which students research their career choices thoroughly, then proceed to explore those choices at a designated place of business. This allows students the opportunity to see into a career from a real life perspective, rather than by word of mouth.

Kevin Paray, a senior at BSHS, sat down with me to share his experience with Senior Internship.

Paray is currently shadowing Dr. Rajiv Jauhar, a cardiologist at Long Island Jewish Hospital in New Hyde Park. Paray's day usually consists of sitting in on medical procedures, observing how the nurses and doctors interact with patients, and learning directly from the doctor while in a work setting. Paray emphasizes that the best thing about the program is that it offers insight on different careers. Recently, while at the hospital, he was able to shadow a psychiatrist in addition to his stay with Dr. Jauhar, which worked in Paray’s favor, given that he is also interested in psychiatry.

In order to gain the most from the internship experience, students are required to
fulfill a minimum of 80 working hours. Now this begs to question: When and how will
students find time to accomplish this after school, in addition to extracurricular
activities?