Communities In Schools of Houston expands internship programs

(HOUSTON) - Anjelica had a difficult time focusing on school work while grieving the loss of her mother.

“I would just try to ignore it and sometimes would just sit there and cry,” the recent high school graduate said.

But Communities In Schools of Houston (CIS) Student Support Specialist Meghan Loera, a licensed social worker embedded at Houston Independent School District’s Heights High School, couldn’t let Anjelica’s tough situation keep her from graduating and planning for her future.

Knowing she was interested in healthcare, Loera introduced Anjelica to CIS’s nursing internship—one of several of the nonprofit’s growing summer programs designed to introduce recent high school graduates, who may not be familiar with professional careers, to exciting opportunities.

Loera is one of hundreds of CIS student support specialists based at about 160 campuses across the Houston area. They work to help school officials create cultures where it’s OK to reach out for help. Any barrier—in and out of the classroom—to students’ success stands no chance against the caring and determined nature of CIS student support specialists like Loera, Anjelica explained.

"At first, I really didn’t like Ms. Meghan calling to check in. In my culture, we don’t talk about things. But she wouldn’t give up; she did everything she could to be there. And now, I recommend that any student who is going through something, that they let CIS help,” Anjelica said.

The CIS internship program gives students, most of whom will be the first in their family to go to college, experience and confidence to pursue a college career and profession in the healthcare, legal, energy and property management fields.

After much work to be admitted into the program, Anjelica is now among more than 60 paid CIS interns working as professionals across the Houston area. She’s excited to leave her friend’s couch and afford a place of her own, she said.

As part of the CIS nursing program, high school students work full-time shifts alongside nurses at Houston Methodist and St. Luke’s Hospitals while earning a Patient Care Assistant (PCA) certification and opportunity for a college scholarship.

As part of a partnership with the Houston Bar Association, students interested in the legal profession work in corporate legal departments, public interest agencies and law firms, like Baker Botts and Gibbs & Bruns; and Lazarus Energy over the summer and throughout the year hosts CIS internships that count toward Houston Community College credit hours.

CIS recently expanded its internship program to include property management. Judwin Properties now provides students experience in customer relations, marketing and communications, and property service and management at its apartment complexes.