Tartan Students Earn Grades and Paychecks Through Internship Program

Tartan senior Peter Vue admits, before he got his job as a receptionist at appliance store in Woodbury, his people skills were lacking.

“These guys,” he said motioning toward his co-workers in the store Monday night, “I was like so shy I couldn’t talk to them for maybe a couple months, and then all of a sudden, I just opened up.”

More than any of the skills he gained on the job, where he has worked through Business Professionals of America program for two years, the interpersonal skills are probably the most important, he said, and will serve him well in his future career as an ophthalmologist.

Through the Business Professionals of America (BPA) program, students work at a variety of jobs in and around Oakdale and Woodbury, said adviser Sheryl Krengel. They earn money, and class credit, which gives them an extra incentive to do a good job, she said.

One supervisor, Jennifer Livingston of , was once a BPA member herself. When the 1999 Tartan High School graduate started working at Cardinal Realty through BPA, she said she really didn’t know what she wanted to do. She soon learned she liked the office atmosphere.

“I got really lucky to work for an employer that really cares about what they do,” she said. “It’s not that they just care about their employees, they care about their customers. I don’t have any desire to work for a large corporation where some of that gets lost.”

She stayed on through college, and then when a position as office manager opened up, she took it. Now, she says the staff at Cardinal Realty is like her second family, and she is the one training in the BPA interns at the office.

Interns there enter listings into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), create fliers, make copies, greet customers, answer phones and do data entry, among other things, she said.

Getting interns through Tartan means Livingston typically has to train in a new, inexperienced employee every one or two years, she said, but on the plus side hiring someone with less experience saves the company money.

Plus, Cardinal Realty sees participating in the program as an important service to the community, she said.

“For us to sacrifice a little bit to give back to the community is a big deal,” she said. “It is always nice and it’s very rewarding to work with young kids and to teach them a good work ethic and good skills.”

Another employer, Eileen Johnson of , also said she thinks the program provides an important service to students. Although this is Johnson’s first year participating in Tartan’s BPA program, she was part of a similar program for nine years at a previous location.

She said working at the daycare center helps students who are thinking about going into the teaching or early childhood fields decide whether it’s for them, and also gives them a glimpse into what parenting is like.

“It always has been a positive experience,” Johnson said.

The BPA program has classroom component, too, and so participation is limited to 30 students who must apply to get in, adviser Krengel said. Students might learn about job opportunities through her, but she encourages six or seven students to apply for each opening, and it is up to the employer to choose who they want to hire. Some students also find jobs on their own, she said.

The weak economy in recent years has made it tougher for the students to get jobs, Krengel said.

She has five students this year who haven’t been able to find internships, but because of the economic climate, she said she’s allowed them to pursue volunteer opportunities or do other things that will prepare them for employment.

While BPA is a class for which students earn credit, it is also an extra-curricular activity through which they compete in state and national competitions and perform community service.

Eleven members of the Tartan BPA team qualified for nationals this year.

The group isn't all business, Krengel said, they also perform a great deal of community service.

The group partners with Tartan High School’s special education program, getting together to play board games and packing meals for Feed My Starving Children together, Krengel said. They have plans to go on a shopping trip to the Mall of America together where they’ll talk about personal finance and go to a play together, she said.

They also organize two blood drives at the school each year, she said, and have raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Special Olympics.