DOWNINGTOWN — Knowing the value of hands-on learning, the experts at Y-Prime, Inc., the leading supplier in eClinical solutions, completed their second summer internship program with the students of the Downingtown STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) Academy. This was the second year Y-Prime partnered with STEM in offering a summer internship program for students in their career pathways program.
STEM Academy is a magnet high school in the Downingtown School District providing a 21st century education for students in 9th to 12th grades. The school’s career pathways program requires students to pursue an area of exploration and complete 21 hours of on-site fieldwork before graduation. Interested students interviewed with Y-Prime in April at the Academy’s career fair; eight students were selected to be interns for the summer program.
“Here at the STEM Academy, we teach 21st century skills for jobs that keep developing, providing non-traditional structure to prepare students for STEM fields. Y-Prime helps open our student’s eyes to what these new technological businesses are like and teaches them skills needed to succeed in a corporate environment,” says Susan Boardman, Internships and Partnerships leader at STEM Academy. “Y-Prime is influencing the future workforce.”
The interns spent time with several departments at Y-Prime including quality assurance talent management, marketing, customer care, and research and development. Each intern had the opportunity to sit with employees and learn about the clinical industry and what it takes to work in the corporate workforce. This not only helped the students to learn about departmental areas they were interested in pursuing, it also gave them a chance to see departments they may not have thought about prior to their internship.
“This experience solidified my interest in starting my own business someday. I think the biggest reason is because we were able to speak to and interact with individuals who helped develop the company,” says STEM senior Mathi Tamilmani.
Y-Prime Talent Management manager Filola Beitler comments about the value Y-Prime received from the interns, “We hope some of these students will come work for us after college. It is a real joy to see the excitement and motivation from them as they learn about the industry and how we develop Y-Prime products.”
