The 2025 second-semester internship application portal is NOW OPEN!

This opportunity to gain experience, make connections, and get ahead of the curve is open to all students in grades 11 and 12. Internships are 40 hours in length and students can earn dual credit. Completed applications are due by Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. Learn More.

[Parent Testimonial] WLC Internships Helped Student Gain Admission to College of Choice

Colleen Rogers is a mother of two students who have participated in the Workplace Learning Connection Internship Program. Her son, Tommy Rogers, graduated from Liberty High School last spring and got into his top choice for college. Colleen partially credits the experiences and skills he gained through the Internship Program to leading to his acceptance.

“He (Tommy) got into his first choice as a direct admit to the Computer Science program at the University of Michigan, starting this fall. I truly believe that this WLC program helped him get a spot and helped him find his passion,” Colleen says. “Tommy’s internships were very impactful, as they allowed him firsthand experience seeing what it was like to be a computer programmer. He gained a lot of insightful information on how to achieve his goals in college and beyond. He received mentorship and support from WLC along the way and learned responsibility, accountability, and ingenuity as well as how to collaborate with fellow peers on a project.”

Tommy completed two summer internships through WLC, both with the University of Iowa Driving Safety Research Institute. “To me, one of the most important aspects of the internships, beyond learning about the career path and seeing if it was right for him, was that Tommy was able to add these experiences to his resumes and college applications. In Tommy’s case, he was also able to receive an outstanding letter of recommendation from his internship mentor, someone actively in the field. In my opinion that is invaluable. Applying for colleges, as we have just learned, is quite different from when we were growing up. It is a much more intensive process and much more competitive. I believe his experiences and the connections he made in his internships played a big part in him getting accepted into his first-choice university.”

Job Shadow Portal I Closes with Big Numbers!

Sept. 20 marked the close of our first of three job shadow application windows for this school year. We had over 2,300 students from 46 different high schools sign up for job shadows.

Students were able to pick one job shadow from nearly 200 different career exploration opportunities. The most popular shadow request areas were in cosmetology, nursing, architecture, engineering, physical therapy, radiology, FBI careers, surgical technology, mental health, and automotive technology. But our No. 1-requested career was welder! This No. 1 was a first for us and we were excited to see this trend given the huge demand for welders in the workforce.

Students will have a second opportunity to sign up for a job shadow this November. We introduced this added opportunity a few years ago and received a lot of positive feedback. The goal of this second fall sign-up window is to allow students who may have missed the first fall application period to have one more chance to apply before January. This was in response to a request we heard from our school stakeholders, and we worked hard to implement it. The second application portal will be open from Nov. 4 – 15, 2024, at 3 p.m.

Are you a business interested in hosting a job shadow and bringing students into your work environment? If so, check out our Partners and Volunteers page to learn more about how you can get involved!

Introducing New Workplace Learning Connection Team Member Clay Norris!

Clay Norris is a full-time school liaison for rural Linn County schools and a business liaison; he works out of the Linn County Regional Center.

Where did you work prior to WLC?
Most recently I was a work-based learning coordinator at Iowa Lakes Community College, based in Emmetsburg and Spirit Lake campuses. My wife, Kathy, and I lived in Spirit Lake (Lake Okoboji area) for 27 years, and during that time I spent 20 years at Berkley/Pure Fishing as a senior brand product manager. I was also a marketing consultant to two major fishing companies and I spent more than three years as the executive director of the Iowa Rock ’n Roll Music Association. Before we moved to Spirit Lake, I worked for three different advertising agencies in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Birmingham, Alabama. I am a graduate of the University of Tulsa with a B.A. in advertising and public relations.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spend time with my wife of 39 years, six grown children and their spouses, and seven grandsons. Also, church activities, fishing, listening to and a student of 60’s through 90’s rock/pop music, cycling, walking/hiking, spectator sports (big Cubs and Bears fan), and I fancy myself as an amateur meteorologist.

From your perspective, why is career exploration such a pivotal part of a student’s educational journey?
Students today have more career choices and postsecondary educational choices/paths than ever before, but because of that it is also very confusing to them, and even to their high school counselors and other advisors. Furthermore, with the cost of all types of education continuing to rise, it is also more important than ever that students don’t waste as much time and money “discovering what they want to do” or, just as important, to learn what “they definitely do NOT want to do.”

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?
Helping the school counselors and students in the smaller Linn County school districts that I represent with Workplace Learning Connections. Also, I am very excited about the two business pathways that I will be helping everyone with: Agriculture/Natural Resources and particularly Arts & Communications, as that pathway is what I pursued in college and worked in most of my business career.