n the fall of 2022, Xaverian Head of
School Dr. Jacob Conca ’94 sat
down with Mr. David Nelson ’02,
Director of Annual Fund and Leadership
Giving, Mrs. Barbara Mitchell, School
Counselor, and Mr. James Scholl ’03,
Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement,
and tasked the unlikely trio with creating a
program that would help set Xaverian students
apart in the college applicant pool. “You’re
always looking for the differentiator,” says
Mrs. Mitchell, “especially at some of the most
competitive schools where everyone who is
applying has great grades and high test scores.”
Te outcome was the creation of a new
internship program with the goal of giving a
few highly qualified students the opportunity
to engage in valuable, hands-on, real-world
experiences. Mr. Nelson, Mrs. Mitchell, and
Mr. Scholl sat down for their first planning
meeting. Te first item on the agenda was to
name and brand the program they had begun
envisioning. “Te name piece was a Holy
Spirit moment,” says Mr. Nelson. “We were
bouncing names around and Jim said, ‘What
about ‘Ryken Internship Student Experience?’
and Barb said, ‘Oh, the acronym is RISE,
that’s perfect.’”
On February 6, 2023, all Class of 2024
students received an invitation to apply for
RISE. Internships in the fields of law, health
technology/computer science, business
and project management, supply chain
management, construction management,
architecture, and sports management were
offered to students. “Tey were only allowed
to apply to one,” says Mrs. Mitchell. “We were
making them be very purposeful in thinking
about what their future might look like and what
type of career they want.”
Te process wasn’t an easy one. Describing
it as “intense,” the trio says that students
had to submit an application, a statement of
purpose, and had to take part in one or two
interviews depending upon how far they got in
the process. In the end, 33 students applied for
the seven spots, though afer seeing the caliber
of candidates, three internship sites offered to
take two students each. Although it wasn’t a
requirement for RISE employers, all sites for
the inaugural year made the decision to pay
their interns.
Te participants still had a long way to
go, however, before their six-week summer
Dana Guzzi-Bartholomew ’24 at UDA Architects
RISING TO THE top
Students Find Success in
Xaverian Internship Program
8 www.xbhs.com
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