Internships look great on college résumés

By Dibya Subedi
Cabell Midland High School

Let’s face it, for college-bound students, especially those aiming for selective schools out of state, junior and senior year of high school become completely enveloped by college-preferred academics, athletics, clubs, scholastic events and standardized tests.

We’ve reached the time when all good students take difficult classes, remain involved in school events, participate in extracurricular activities and score excellently on the ACT and SAT, so, as if the previous load was not enough, students have to be even more involved to be a standout candidate at their college of choice.

In Cabell County, high school students have the option of committing themselves to the Honors Program, which requires that you never get a grade less than a B and that you also complete 100 hours of community service, 100 hours of work-based experience and an expansive research project before graduation.

Initially, the program seems like a rather pretentious and glorified club, and it’s true that there have been students accepted to great colleges without doing a lot of extra work, but most college admissions counselors will tell you that schools are usually partial to students with good community involvement and work-based experience.

To get a start on my work-based experience, which has to be in a scientific field so that it supports my major, I contacted a pathologist at Cabell Huntington Hospital who pulled strings with the lab director and allowed me to come in for a tour. Since the hospital has never had a high school-aged intern, teaching me the basics of the lab was a challenge for all of us.

The whole laboratory area consisted of nine departments: Pathology, Cytology, Histology, Hematology, Blood Bank, Chemistry, Immunology, Microbiology and Virology. Pathology analyzed slides in order to find pathogenic, or disease causing, cells; Histology received tissue samples - which included specimen from simple ovarian cysts to a recently miscarried fetus — from surgery and prepared those slides.

The Hematology department analyzed different components of blood, and the Blood Bank matched the donations with recipients. The Chemistry department analyzed things like blood gas levels, sugar and other components that must be maintained in plasma.

In Immunology, I learned the basics of antigens and antibodies through firsthand observation, which was a great opportunity. Microbiology, aside from being really smelly, involved setting up bacterial cultures (using a bit of urine, spinal fluid, stool or the like). Virology involved testing for and culturing viruses such as the ones that cause influenza or HPV.

For me, the most interesting thing about the laboratory was that the analysis of diseases was on a molecular basis, meaning that an ailment was taken as a whole and broken down far enough so that its cause could be pinpointed to a single organism.

I also got a more touching and intimate view of the health care profession when I was allowed to shadow the laboratory phlebotomist. I followed her around the hospital’s different wards, including Intensive Care for varying age groups. Firsthand contact with the patients was a good reminder of why people choose to become a part of the health care profession in the first place.

Overall, my mentorship activity was a successful motivator as well as a much-needed credential on my college applications.