For Ms. Felicia Essien, being an intern is about working to follow her passion.

Ms. Essien is a Towson University student currently interning at Wilde Lake in Mr. Townsend’s English class. She is using her interning experience to reach her career goals.

As an intern, Ms. Essien experiences the daily work and responsibilities of a teacher in a real-life setting. She takes notes on Mr. Townsend’s interactions with students and lessons. She also sometimes take an active role in teaching.

“I have to teach a certain amount of time in his classroom,” said Ms. Essien. “But most days I’ll come in I’ll sit in the back and take notes on his lesson.”

Interning presents a host of difficulties for students, but it provides excellent real-world experience for those who choose to do it.

She also takes on the role of one-on-one tutor, as she sometimes will aid students with their classwork. “It’s a lot of work,” said Ms. Essien. “It’s a lot of work because I’m balancing a job, I’m balancing schoolwork, and I’m balancing an internship . . . A lot of times I don’t get home until eight o’clock.”

Ms. Essien plans to become an English teacher upon completing her education, and it is her passion for learning and teaching that drives her.

“[Teaching] is one of those jobs where you have to do it because you like it, or because you like the kids,” said Ms. Essien. “If you’re going to do it, you have to do it with a certain passion, a certain focus, and a certain resilience because it’s not an easy job.”

She continues to use interning as her path to success. “I think it’s a good opportunity for me to see what it’s like to be a teacher without having the full responsibilities of a teacher,” said Ms. Essien.

“It’s like a year of pseudo-experience,” said Ms. Essien when asked about the benefits of internship in the teaching job market. “You learn the system. So if I wanted to work in Howard County I would have already interned in Howard County.”

Being a student intern also serves as a bridge between student and teacher.

Mr. Townsend wishes to provide an experience through which students may “develop some real-world experience in teaching-which is really tough.”

Mr. Townsend is giving Ms. Essien a practical application of teaching theory, which she has studied at Towson. Through student interning, she is gaining some real-world experience to aid her on her path to teaching.