Students from Brookfield Central High School acquire real world exposure through the mentorship program offered through the school itself. Mentorship is a way for students to gain firsthand experience in a field of study that interests them the most. As a result of successfully completing a mentorship, students will receive 0.5 credits towards their final GPA. This agenda is geared towards upperclassmen as it guides them through a workplace in a given career branch and is a good introduction to what they may likely experience in a matter of years.

Many students who have participated, including Natalie Alteri (‘16), recommend this program to others.

¨You gain a really great understanding of how your favorite subjects directly translate into real jobs,” said Alteri. “And you have a chance to work and talk with professionals who can certainly offer plenty of advice about college and related fields of study.¨

During the program, students shadow professionals of certain fields and are taken around the workplace. Alteri is a current intern at Microbiology, which is a locally based company.

“Typical lab duties include preparing solutions and gels for experiments, plating and counting bacteria colonies in petri dishes, and cleaning,” Alteri said. “I also run experiments on different strains of bacteria as part of a larger study to test their ability to break down antioxidants.¨

Another mentorship student, Emily Lambert (´16), shadowed a Physician’s Assistant at the Medical College of Wisconsin and was grateful for this opportunity because it gave her a perspective of working in a hospital and what being in the medical field is actually like.

¨I was able to observe brain surgeries and ask questions about anything,” said Lambert. “I followed my PA through surgeries and did rounds.”

One of the many benefits of this program is that students see how their interests relate to certain careers and are given an understanding of what it is like to work in their desired area. Participants are also given a chance to speak with experts who offer advice for just about anything they ask. This is what sets the program apart from a regular classroom environment: real world exposure. Another upside of a mentorship is that students use the experience to eliminate options and change their minds from what they observe. Lambert did exactly that.

¨Going into it, I felt as though I wanted to be a doctor,” said Lambert. “What I took from it is that doctors have copious amounts of rules that need to be abided by to avoid a lawsuit, and that just isn’t who I am. It was really nice to be able to learn that before college because now I know that it’s not something I really want to do.¨

Students who take part in the mentorship program experience an environment that they otherwise would not be informed about. This ranges from shadowing the surgeries that doctors administer to interning at the district attorney’s office. A wonderful part of the program is that each area is unique and fits the interests of students which explains why there is a large number of participants. Upperclassmen interested in taking part in the mentorship program should contact guidance as soon as possible.