Students Shadow Doctors, Engineers In New Externship Program In Mahwah

MAHWAH, NJ — As part of a new externship program established at Mahwah High School to engage students in real-world work experience, one student got to witness firsthand three surgeries — two in the shoulder and one in the knee — at Rockland and Bergen Surgical Center.

Another participating student had the opportunity to talk to and learn from professional engineers at Boswell Engineering, while touring the company's headquarters in Hackensack and getting a close look at projects completed in Mahwah.

The first student is a senior who opted to follow the Biotechnology Research and Health Science career pathway at Mahwah High, and the second student is a junior following the Engineering and Technology pathway. Both said they were able to ask questions of professionals and gain a lot of knowledge about their respective fields, thanks to the program.

Superintendent Michael DeTuro said he is glad to see the program, which has been in the works for a couple of years, come to fruition.

"Creating and developing relationships with organizations outside of school buildings enriches the students' educational experiences and prepares the students for more meaningful post-secondary options and the workforce," DeTuro said at the Nov. 23 Board of Education meeting.

In total, three students participated in the job shadowing program over the summer, Mahwah High School Principal John Pascale said. He added that Mahwah is building a network of employers to partner with to give students interested in each of the school's career pathways an opportunity to do an externship.

"It is great for kids to get this real-life experience in the field and see how that connects with them academically," Pascale said at last week's meeting. "What an incredible amount of information (these students) gained in such a short period of time just by being on site with someone else."