INTERNSHIP INSIGHT: Kyle Thibodeaux '21 - Holten Richmond Middle School

Posted: Aug 01, 2019

BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott College is a pioneer in requiring comprehensive internship experiences in every program of study for undergraduate students. Here's a look into men's ice hockey student-athlete and mathematics major Kyle Thibodeaux's (Glastonbury, Conn.) internship experience at Holten Richmond Middle School (HRMS).

ECGULLS: Describe your overall internship experience.

THIBODEAUX: For my internship, I joined a sixth-grade math classroom at Holten Richmond Middle School in Danvers, Mass. During my three weeks in the classroom, I had such an amazing experience getting to know each one of my students while also assisting them with their academic needs in the classroom. During the duration of my internship, the students worked on a "Shark Tank" project where they would present to the class their sales pitch on a product they created. It was amazing to see how creative the students were when coming up with ideas for their products. During the course of the project, we were able to slip in math components like finding the volume of the package that their product would go into or finding the percent of the companies' worth they wanted to request from the sharks. This project was so much fun to be a part of because the students were engaged in the math processes while also having a great time doing it.

ECGULLS: What have you learned from your internship?

THIBODEAUX: Some things that I have learned during my internship were teaching strategies to keep students on task. I was fortunate enough to be in a classroom that had an amazing teacher in Mrs. DeMaino, who was always able to capture the attention and respect from her students. She was able to do so with participation incentives, and team-wide kindness incentives. In sixth grade, it was very important to the teachers and the team that the students would put in effort in the classroom, and that they would be kind to their peers. I was also able to learn some disciplinary techniques to use when students get disruptive in the classroom as well, which can also come in handy.

ECGULLS: How will this internship help you in your career moving forward?

THIBODEAUX: Each teacher needs their own style of teaching and observing techniques that were successful for teachers is the best thing from this internship that will help me in my career moving forward. I was able to grade assignments, create new assignments, help create lesson plans, and modify assignments for students. Having this experience, and being able to do these things will help me as a new teacher when the time comes because of the experience I gained at HRMS.

ECGULLS: What kind of networking have you done at your internship?

THIBODEAUX: Some networking I did while at HRMS was getting to know the teachers of the team I was apart of, the Read team, and also getting to know some of the other sixth-grade math teachers. Being able to create relationships with other teachers and faculty will be extremely important when looking for a job. Because of my internship at HRMS, I feel comfortable reaching out to the teachers I met for advice when looking for a job, as well as recommendations. The faculty was extremely welcoming when I arrived and the hospitality of the teachers made the environment comfortable for an intern.

ECGULLS: Do you have a favorite experience or story from your internship? If so, what was it?

THIBODEAUX: My favorite experience from my internship was watching my students' ideas for their Shark Tank projects come to life. It was awesome seeing how excited some of them got when they were explaining to me what their product was and how they came up with it. Another experience that capped off my time at HRMS was on my last day the students had their field day. My homeroom was Italy in the homeroom Olympics. Our homeroom ended up capturing the gold medal in the homeroom Olympics!

THE ENDICOTT INTERNSHIP MODEL

A philosophy of "learning by doing" permeates the college curriculum in which students are encouraged to integrate theory and practice in all of their studies.

Through their experiences in internships students will be prepared to:

Apply, integrate, and evaluate knowledge within a particular academic discipline
Develop competencies for careers and community service
Explore career options and gain field experience
Foster personal growth through increased self-confidence, interpersonal skills, an understanding of self and others, and a heightened awareness of ethical standards
Improve the ability to learn in a self-directed manner

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(Photo Credit - Kyle Thibodeaux '21)