Academics
McCain-Ravenel Center
Externships
Igniting Passion Through an Externship
Once again this year, the McCain-Ravenel Center Winter Externship Program connected eager juniors and seniors with engaging experiences in real-world professional settings. The program continues a 52-year tradition at the School that allows for a deep dive into workforce learning and career development through connections with myriad businesses, non-profits, and government institutions. From November 14 to February 9, students were able to gain significant knowledge through this unique program.
“One of the best ways for students to discover their path in life and their own agency is to see their work help someone else and produce something of value,” Norman Kim-Senior, director of externships, said. “Externships give students this opportunity to be the source of a solution or to contribute something valuable to a team outside of the protective halls of a school.”
Caring for the elderly has played a significant role in Alexa Parchment’s ’24 life since she was a young child. A native of Farmingdale, New Jersey, Parchment grew up watching her mother support senior citizens as a caregiver at an assisted living facility. Understanding the challenges residents faced staying connected with loved ones, especially during Covid, Parchment saw an opportunity that ignited her excitement and determination to improve technological literacy in older adults.
Kim-Senior encouraged Parchment to pursue a passion project for her winter externship — this set the stage for “Joedy’s Corner.” Named after her grandfather, Parchment’s endeavor set out to teach technological literacy to elderly people across the globe. For nearly four months, she traveled to Washington, D.C., for her two-pronged externship, combining entrepreneurship and technology.
“Technology was something my grandparents struggled with,” Parchment explained. “This project is something I have been working on since I was in eighth grade, and it has grown into a passion for a big problem I want to fix.”
Every Thursday, during winter afternoon option, Parchment journeyed to Chinatown in the historical northwest D.C. neighborhood to attend a seminar by LearnServe. The organization’s mission is to equip “high school students from diverse backgrounds with the entrepreneurial vision, tenacity, confidence, and leadership skills needed to tackle social challenges at home and abroad.” This unique experience taught Parchment how to use her voice for change and influenced her business plan for “Joedy’s Corner.”
“I would sit in that class for two hours with other kids my age, and they just gave us ideas and taught us how to turn a business into a non-profit that's supposed to help our communities,” reflected Parchment. Through her externship, she also rediscovered her public speaking skills. In December, LearnServe hosted a “coffee house” where students were encouraged to share their ideas in one-minute, succinct pitches in front of an audience. “It really helped me gain confidence with my public speaking again. I haven’t had the chance to do any public speaking since Covid started,” the aspiring non-profit business owner said.
Caring for the elderly has played a significant role in Alexa Parchment’s ’24 life since she was a young child. A native of Farmingdale, New Jersey, Parchment grew up watching her mother support senior citizens as a caregiver at an assisted living facility. Understanding the challenges residents faced staying connected with loved ones, especially during Covid, Parchment saw an opportunity that ignited her excitement and determination to improve technological literacy in older adults.
Kim-Senior encouraged Parchment to pursue a passion project for her winter externship — this set the stage for “Joedy’s Corner.” Named after her grandfather, Parchment’s endeavor set out to teach technological literacy to elderly people across the globe. For nearly four months, she traveled to Washington, D.C., for her two-pronged externship, combining entrepreneurship and technology.
“Technology was something my grandparents struggled with,” Parchment explained. “This project is something I have been working on since I was in eighth grade, and it has grown into a passion for a big problem I want to fix.”
Every Thursday, during winter afternoon option, Parchment journeyed to Chinatown in the historical northwest D.C. neighborhood to attend a seminar by LearnServe. The organization’s mission is to equip “high school students from diverse backgrounds with the entrepreneurial vision, tenacity, confidence, and leadership skills needed to tackle social challenges at home and abroad.” This unique experience taught Parchment how to use her voice for change and influenced her business plan for “Joedy’s Corner.”
“I would sit in that class for two hours with other kids my age, and they just gave us ideas and taught us how to turn a business into a non-profit that's supposed to help our communities,” reflected Parchment. Through her externship, she also rediscovered her public speaking skills. In December, LearnServe hosted a “coffee house” where students were encouraged to share their ideas in one-minute, succinct pitches in front of an audience. “It really helped me gain confidence with my public speaking again. I haven’t had the chance to do any public speaking since Covid started,” the aspiring non-profit business owner said.
Concurrently, Parchment interned at Tech Foundry, a product development company that specializes in guiding clients through the software development life cycle. Parchment’s supervisor, Engineering and Product Head Designer Elizabeth Kukla, described her as dedicated and proactive.
“Alexa brought a project with her that she wanted to pursue, and she has been working to rebuild her community service website in a more modern set of technology,” Kukla explained. “We enjoyed having her during that process, and we hope she gained the insight needed before making her next big life decision.”
While at Tech Foundry, Parchment honed and matured the website development skills she will make good use of in refining “Joedy’s Corner.” She has fully recognized that connecting people through technology fulfills her aspiration to help others in a meaningful way.
“I know tech is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Parchment said. “It's a privilege to understand what I want to do, and how I want to achieve it. I'm only 17, but understanding the importance of helping people and getting the opportunity to impact so many using complex knowledge that is pretty simple to me is pretty exciting.”
While at Tech Foundry, Parchment honed and matured the website development skills she will make good use of in refining “Joedy’s Corner.” She has fully recognized that connecting people through technology fulfills her aspiration to help others in a meaningful way.
“I know tech is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Parchment said. “It's a privilege to understand what I want to do, and how I want to achieve it. I'm only 17, but understanding the importance of helping people and getting the opportunity to impact so many using complex knowledge that is pretty simple to me is pretty exciting.”
