Owasso Spark internship

By Lizzy Petersen

Photo of interns and students taken by Jacelyn McDoulett

For the 2023-2024 school year, junior and senior students at Owasso High School were given the opportunity to work an internship. Many students took advantage of this opportunity to work with the community and make some extra money. The internship takes place at the many Owasso elementary schools in the morning and afternoon, as a system similar to a daycare. 

Owasso senior Kyra Taylor is one of the many students participating in this internship. She works the morning shifts Monday through Friday from 6:45-8:40 and has come to find that kids have crazy amounts of energy no matter how early it is. 

“Kids surprisingly have lots of energy in the morning and do not like being told no,” she mentions with a sigh.

Another student in the program, Amauria Kirby, has a slightly different outlook on her early morning activities with the kids. Although it is a lot to deal with their insane amounts of energy in the morning, Kirby realized even she was learning from the students.

“Kids have the biggest and brightest imagination….They are actually teaching me things,” Kirby says with a smile. 

Of course, kids are difficult to keep up with, but having that positive attitude to look forward to as students finish up their high school career is rewarding. This job can also be beneficial for finding a career in the future.

Taylor mentions, “From the job [I] will be better with communicating and having patience.”

This skill set is very important when it comes to searching for jobs. Many jobs look for an employee with these characteristics because these issues are very likely to arise without experience.

Kirby specifically hopes to work with kids one day. Currently, she is getting hands-on experience through Spark to get used to working with younger children.

“I hope to be working with kids that deal with day-to-day struggles and possibly help them with prosthetics to make their life easier,” Kirby shares.

Spark is providing students with a way to get ahead in the future by giving them not only work experience but also a work ethic. There is also the possibility of students realizing that this is not the job for them. 

Taylor even shares one issue that she has noticed from being there in the early mornings with the kids.

“I feel like the kids need to have time to run and get their energy out in the mornings,” Taylor explains.

When the kids are dropped off in the mornings, they are expected to sit calmly and wait while doing some small assignments and crafts. While that can be entertaining on days with bad weather, the students seem to become antsy waiting around. It is also important for those in charge of the program to understand that these students will be doing just about the same thing in class for hours afterward, so it is nice to get a little active while they can. 

This new program is altogether beneficial for high school students but also the kids being cared for, teachers at the elementary schools and parents that need to drop their kids off a little bit earlier. Spark is proving a useful experience for students, young and old alike.