How does someone end up as a TA or intern at LS? We decided to interview a graduate student from Boston University, and look into her interests and what led her to becoming an intern for Lincoln-Sudbury. We also asked a few questions to a senior, who has had multiple experiences of being a TA in his high school career.
The Lincoln-Sudbury senior that Lucy and Cosette decided to interview is Kevin Whaba, who TA’d for a Foundations of Strength Training class his junior year, and for a 20th Century History class this current school year. One of the answers that stood out to us the most, was how Kevin knew that his interests would lead to him wanting to become a TA for the subjects he was passionate about. “When I started high school, I had a LOT to say about Philosophy, Religion, and History. I joined Speech and Debate, and I just loved talking to people. Whenever I would discuss topics like this, I would feel so excited, and I felt like myself. Learning and teaching about history was so exciting to me even before I became a TA.” Kevin shares how his love for certain subjects and topics was a roadmap to acquiring a TA position. He also expresses how helping younger students is a really great experience that he is grateful to be able to do.
Kevin continues to say how it isn’t just about the connection between the TA and the student, it’s also about the TA and the teacher. Having a strong relationship with the teacher you are assisting is vital in order to achieve success. He also shares the roles that he fulfills while helping TA in the History class. “I take notes for students who might need them or those who have missed class, I help draft quizzes and test questions, I help decorate the room, take things off the walls, and I also LOVE talking with the students. It’s always super interesting to hear what you guys think and what you guys have to say.” We understand and admire how Kevin does so much for the 20th Century History Class as well as still finding time to pick up on any learning experience he can.
Living through Kevin’s experiences, he shows how he is strongly interested in becoming an intern one day. He talks about how it is a great opportunity to grow as a student but also find experiences to set you up for the real world. “Becoming a TA in hopes that I could also inspire students, as well as explore my own love for history.” We see how Kevin is truly immersed in learning how to be a better person, while helping others become better versions of themselves.
The next interviewee, Hannah, completed an internship with several cooking classes at Lincoln Sudbury Regional Highschool (LSRHS) as a part of her dietetic program through Boston University. She is currently on path to becoming a registered dietitian, completing the required supervised practice in the field.
Hannah’s interest in interning with LSRHS was driven by her belief in the importance of hands-on interaction with food, as well as her desire to address the widespread nutrition misinformation found online. Through her work at LSRHS, she hoped to help students develop positive and lasting relationships with food.
During her internship, Hannah gained a wide range of experiences. She delivered three interactive lectures on fundamental and relevant nutrition topics and created presentations to further expand on those lessons. She also adapted recipes to introduce students to a broader range of ingredients and designed recipe cards to support them in the kitchen. In addition, she communicated with students responsible for grocery shopping, planning out their purchasing decisions. To ensure smooth and efficient classes, she organized cooking classes into segments so that all students gained experience while staying on schedule. Throughout these activities, she assisted students with cooking techniques and answered their questions.
Hannah’s time at LSRHS also allowed her to develop strong education skills. She gained experience engaging high school students and experimented with different teaching styles to find the most effective ways to communicate information. She worked alongside three teachers who supported her interests and gave her flexibility to explore her own teaching approaches while offering guidance when needed.
Both the experiences of Kevin, as a TA to a multitude of classes, and Hannah, as a cooking intern, exemplify the importance of learning teaching skills. Driven by their passions, both were able to utilize these opportunities to the fullest extent. Practicing abilities like organization, speaking skills, time management, and many others helped to build a foundation for them to take with them in the future. Becoming a TA at LSRHS is an incredible opportunity that students are lucky to have available to them and they will positively lay the groundwork for similar experiences such as internships.
