Challenging Social Studies Internship for Caroline Maggio
Caroline Maggio isn’t jogging to the finish line. The Huntington High School senior is engaged in an internship with social studies Peter Crugnale that is sure to bring daily challenges and plenty of opportunities for personal and intellectual growth.
“Caroline was initially a student of mine when she was in tenth grade,” Mr. Crugnale said. “She worked very hard on improving her work and writing and was referred to Advanced Placement U.S. History. I was impressed because she set a goal for herself and worked consistently all year to attain that goal. She also was a delight to have in class as she was always polite and respectful.”
Ms. Maggio is going into the internship with her eyes wide open. “I wanted to do this internship because Mr. Crugnale was my favorite teacher when I had him in tenth grade and Global History is my favorite subject,” the teenager said. “Everything about it is so interesting because you get to see why things are the way they are now. I would like to be a social studies teacher after college and why not learn from the best? I want to learn what it’s like to be a teacher and to see if I’m cut out for it.”
Mr. Crugnale is equally excited to be working with Ms. Maggio and he believes the internship will be a great learning experience for the senior. Students accepted into the internship program earn one full academic credit.
“This year, as my intern, I hope to give her a sense of what being on the other side of the desk is like,” Mr. Crugnale said. “Our plans are to work together on some lessons, projects and activities and for her share in some of the responsibilities of being a teacher, be that helping students, maintaining the classroom environment, creating meaningful assignments, targeting student needs and creating materials to address those needs, and many other aspects of teaching. Ultimately, for her final project I would like to see her create and teach some of her own lessons to the class.”