Cascades: Upper School Students Gain Experience Through Internships

“The Bush Internship Program challenges students to experience the daily triumphs and tribulations of real-life careers,” said Program Manager Rachel Ladd. “The stakes are high as students shadow real surgeries and write tangible articles. Time and time again, students rise to meet the moment with courage and in the process find their voice. While internships are an incredible academic pursuit, the real learning comes from student reflections on what they care about and who they want to become.”

Claire P. '27, who’s part of the Aegis Living Club at Bush, wished to work with individuals living with dementia. During her internship at Aegis Living in Seattle, she assisted her mentor, Life Enrichment Director Tootie Bernard, in leading a variety of engaging activities for memory care residents.

“Each day, we would do at least one mental and physical activity with the residents,” shared Claire. “I would do slow yoga and arts and crafts, like scrapbooking and coloring with them.”

Aegis Living provides support for all residents by implementing amenities such as wellness classes, music therapy, and vintage decor, which help them better acclimate to their personalized care.   

“This kind of work is important because it reduces isolation for residents,” Claire said. “It slows the spread of dementia, and it also helps them to feel more connected, so it’s good for young people to be there and build friendships with them.”

While some students pursued internships in community care, education, and STEM fields, others, like James D. ’27, explored the publishing industry to improve their storytelling and research skills. While working at Seattle newspaper Pacific Publishing Company alongside his mentor, he learned the importance of piecing together an attention-grabbing story from start to finish. 

 

“Before writing, you conduct research from social media and government websites to gather relevant information,” James explained. “After researching, you start pitching your ideas to your mentor. In the story planning phase, I received blank mock-ups of the newspapers, which we use to map out which stories will make it to the front page.” 

 

Interning at a local newspaper further developed James’ skills in distinguishing between misinformation and credible sources and in recognizing which topics resonate most with local communities. He also witnessed the newspaper's preparation and printing processes and better understands the importance of proofreading. 

 

“While some stories might be more important on a national level, they may not be at a community level,” James said. “The newspaper shows the community members what goes on in their area and keeps them informed.”

 

Upper School student Ren S. '27 had a personal connection to her internship at Seattle Derby Brats. As an active member of the roller derby community, she aimed to raise awareness of the organization's importance and conduct outreach to help fund future competitions. Through this opportunity, she used her excellent communication and customer service skills to connect with more than fifty companies.  

 

“I joined Seattle Derby Brats last year, and it’s the best decision I ever made,” Ren said. “Roller derby has really helped my confidence, which is very in line with the mission, which is to empower female and gender expansive youth to be strong, healthy, and confident.”

 

According to Ren, many individuals who are involved in the fast-paced contact sport are part of the LGBTQIA+ community and see the roller derby community as a safe space. 

 

“Because roller derby is an aggressive contact sport, over twenty-five percent of the money we raise goes to insurance,” Ren explained. “It can be dangerous, but because of that, it builds strength and fosters community and collaboration between the players even more.”

 

Astronomy-enthusiast and Upper School student Anisha B. '27 interned at AeroTech, a company that designs and manufactures high-precision motion-control and automation systems. She spent two-weeks shadowing the organization’s COO and learning the basics of the role as they tested various software. Through this internship, Anisha learned the differences between the COO role and that of an aerospace engineer, as well as the day-to-day responsibilities of each. 

 

“One of AeroTec’s goals is to build the future of aerospace,” Anisha said. “So, some of the projects they worked on included implementing hydrospace engines and using them to power different aircraft like helicopters, which was really cool.”

 

Anisha built strong relationships with the staff, who presented her with a heartfelt card upon the program's conclusion. Although most of her time was spent learning and observing, she left with new knowledge, connections, and clarity into her future path in engineering.

 

“This experience helped me understand better what I would like to do as a career,” Anisha said. “After working closely with the COO, I realized that eventually, I would like to work in a leadership role. I really like astronomy, and so I thought this aerospace internship would be a good connection.”

 

How much do you think you know about the heart? After interning at UW Medicine, Upper School student Elise S. '27 could share more than a few facts about the vital organ and some of the most common diseases it can face.

 

“Heart defects are the most common type,” Elise explained to her classmates at the Cascades Exhibition of Learning. “People dealing with heart defects must continue seeing Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) specialists as they get older. That’s the type of doctor that I shadowed during my internship.”

 

Elise dedicated her time to learning about various types of heart-monitoring equipment, including catheters, which are tubes used to diagnose and treat heart conditions such as coronary artery disease, valve issues, and arrhythmias. She also visited several wards within the hospital, including the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and Labor and Delivery, to see how each supports the others. 

 

“My key takeaway was that healthcare has a lot of different career specialties that are more than just doctors,” Elise said. “I really enjoyed seeing the procedures done in real time because I’m a hands-on learner, so I could really picture myself doing this type of work.”

 

Through the Cascades Internship Program, Upper School students at Bush have the opportunity to discover their purpose and passions while absorbing valuable wisdom from their mentors. What sets the Bush Internship Program apart is not just the number of placements, but the depth of preparation and reflection built into the experience for Upper School students.

Students meet with faculty organizers weekly throughout the fall semester to identify their interests, connect with mentors, and craft learning goals before they ever step into the field. The result is not job shadowing for its own sake, but a purposeful, student-driven exploration of identity, curiosity, and courage.