Students interested in getting a head start on their careers have many opportunities here in the school district. One available opportunity is the Northland CAPS program, a classroom-oriented internship where “students are immersed in professional environments engaging in curriculum developed by industry professionals and program instructors – ensuring that what is taught in the classroom is relevant to the workforce,” according to the website.
The CAPS program became available to LHS and LNHS in recent years as a way to expose students to the real world. There are different areas in the program that students choose from, such as Healthcare, Information Technology, Global Business, and Transportation Logistics/Drone Technology.
Those who plan on going to college use their time in the program to help decide a major, and later a degree.
“I might want to do [Tech Solutions] in college, but I’m now leaning more towards the engineering aspect,” senior Tyler Tetens said. “Tech Solutions definitely gives me an insight into the business world. I want to bridge the gap between robots and humans so working with the web really helps with that.”
For the first semester of CAPS, students work on projects under the guidance of a mentor in a classroom setting. The projects are used to educate students in their field of study, as well as encourage students to learn to collaborate with each other. Each project also addresses an issue pertinent to the field and is for the benefit of a real world company.
“Our team is joining with Liberty Hospital and the engineering students to create a simulation lab for medicine. Kind of like Monster’s Inc,” senior Isabelle Matthys said.
Some students have even been given money to fund their projects.
“I am on the Mozilla Congestive Heart Failing project,” senior Jane Awoh said. “A few of us have come together to try to reduce the readmission rates of CHF patients to the hospital. We received a $15,000 grant to design an app for these patients to use to work on getting a healthier lifestyle and to prevent them from going back to the hospitals. We go to the Sprint Accelerator every Wednesday to work on it.”
Once first semester ends, the program shifts from projects and learning to applying knowledge towards an internship for the second semester. Each student picks a company they would like to work with for the duration of second semester, and is then put on a team with professionals where they navigate the workforce.
“You get experience with real-world clients that might use a product you make,” Tetens said. “It gives you a sense of accomplishment and the good feeling that what you created is being used in the world. You’re not getting a grade on a paper; it is more meaningful.”
Two things that especially appeal to students about the program is the business world aspect along with learning how to be independent. Students are responsible for their own transportation and must dress professionally as they go to real business every day. Healthcare students, for example, go to Liberty Hospital. Tech Solutions students go to Cerner in downtown Kansas City.
“I live ten minutes away from the hospital,” Awoh said. “We have to drive downtown every Wednesday. We do carpool but I wish a bus could transport us. I guess it’s part of being independent, which is what CAPS strives for. To teach us how to grow and be independent.”