Three recent graduates from the Red Bank Charter School had the opportunity to gain professional work experience.
As part of the charter school’s service learning program, incoming high school freshmen Lucas Dostie, Maya Williams and Matthew Blankley worked at nearby businesses during their final school year at Red Bank Charter.
All three students will attend Red Bank Regional High School in the fall.
According to a press release from the school, eighth graders are given a career interest survey that asks a series of questions to match students to a particular field. Lucas said he is seeking to become involved with software and computer engineering, Maya said she is pursuing career in finance and Matthew said his interest lies in theater.
Each student was required to spend one hour a week at a business related to their career interest.
Lucas, according to the press release, worked at Two River Computer, a computer repair shop in Fair Haven.
According to owner Tom Bull, Lucas was introduced to the general operations of a computer repair shop, from taking apart a computer, to the typical issues seen in the shop and the process of diagnosing and fixing the computers.
Tasked with building his own computer, Lucas began by stripping an old unit down to all of its separate hardware components.
“Each component had a lesson attached as to what it specific function was,” Bull said. “After each lesson, the respective component was added to the computer until the whole system was complete.”
Lucas then began working with software and installed the operating systems Windows and Ubuntu on the computer.
“After the drivers and operating systems were set up, he was allowed to configure the rest of the system as he saw fit,” Bull said. “He decided to work on installing video games, which he worked on until the end of the internship. Lucas was extremely motivated, happy to help and was genuinely interested in the activities we had for him.”
Maya worked at Morgan Stanley in Red Bank, according to the press release. Initially uncertain if she wanted to pursue finance, her time with the financial planner helped solidify her interest in the field, and she will attend the Academy of Finance at Red Bank High.
According to the press release, Matthew worked with the Count Basie Theater’s educational program where he helped with the Count Basie’s outreach programs and junior musicals stage crew. Additionally, he spent more than one hour a week with the theater and assisted in setting up a production of “Annie Jr.” scheduled for November.
The service learning program has been part of the charter school’s curriculum since its founding and is headed by eighth grade homeroom and math teacher Christopher McCarrick, according to the press release.