Last May, an email was sent out to all BSM students with an application to be a part of the 2023-24 school year’s EPIC internships. Students scrambled to fill out the Google sheet and snag an interview slot. This selective process had many kids worried and hopeful that they would be selected for one of the six internships.
So what exactly is an EPIC internship? In short, EPIC (Explore, Partner, Inspire, Create) is a BSM program that partners with business professionals to provide students with hands-on experience with their passions and/or fields of interest. Students are able to go to conferences, meet with mentors, shadow professionals, etc. The six “internship” teams include Marketing and Communications, Admissions, Technology, Business Marketing Hockey Program, Little Knights Early Development Program, and the recently added Parent Association Internship.
Interns are able to gain an understanding and take a look at different industries they might be interested in post-high school. Senior Allison Cachat has been on the admissions team for two years now. “I really liked all of the aspects of it and how much real-world-like experience we could gain,” Cachat said.
Cachat’s favorite memory from being on the team was visiting Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center and getting to meet the Head Marketing Executives for the Vikings. Although a blast, the admissions team doesn’t come without challenges. “Being asked hard questions by parents on tours when you don’t know the answer can be a bit nerve-wracking but really fun,” Cachat said.
Dr. Stephen Pohlen created the internships right before the pandemic, and when it really started to gain traction, COVID-19 hit. It took a while, but the programs are finally starting to resume to the place they were, pre-lockdown. The main goal of EPIC is to benefit students by helping them discover their niches and hopefully put them on the right track after high school. “We really wanted to focus on experiences for students that were outside the classroom that were connected to the real world that allowed people to explore their own passions or explore professional careers or just kind of see the world beyond the academics,” Pohlen said.
We really wanted to focus on experiences for students that were outside the classroom that were connected to the real world that allowed people to explore their own passions or explore professional careers or just kind of see the world beyond the academics.
— Dr. Stephen Pohlen
On top of the 6 core internships, there are additional ones that are far less selective. A full list of the internships can be found on BSM’s website. One of the more popular, larger internships is CARES (Carolyn’s Advocates Reaching Every Student.) CARES aims to explore “caring fields” such as physical/occupational therapy, speech development, counseling, etc. A group of around 20 students meets about once a month to speak with professionals, shadow jobs, and go to conferences. This fall, CARES is offering a few opportunities to do so. In early November, members will have the chance to visit a Children’s Mental Health Conference in Minneapolis. Days later, they will visit our neighbors at Groves Learning Organization to meet with a speech-language pathologist. “With EPIC we’re primarily focused on student experience,” Pohlen says.