Day in the Life

“No one looks at me and sees a child, they see a hard worker.  It’s so easy for me to interact with these adults. It’s like I’m one of them.”

At Saint Martin, learning doesn’t just take place in the classroom. Four days out of each month, each student participates in a Corporate Work Study job at a site in Northeast Ohio.  Students like Stephanie, pictured here, work in real jobs at real companies, alongside full-time employees through a program that complements our academic curriculum. 

On her assigned work days, Stephanie arrives at school in uniform and enjoys breakfast with her friends, but at 7:50 when many students report to their first period class, Stephanie grabs a bagged lunch and takes the quick ride to her job at The Cleveland Foundation. At the beginning of her Saint Martin career, Stephanie participated in Lion Pride Institute, a summer leadership program for new students, and in Corporate Work Study training, so she is comfortable with both the logistics of the program as well as the important role she plays at The Cleveland Foundation and the role that The Cleveland Foundation can play in her education.

Upon her arrival at The Cleveland Foundation, Stephanie is greeted by a supervisor and colleagues who are expecting her and who have important tasks ready for her attention. She arrives at her desk, checks her email for important messages, and accomplishes items on her daily tasks list. Stephanie’s supervisor provides her with assignments that challenge her appropriately and that are crucial to the success of the organization. She receives feedback on her work, learning how to improve in certain areas and how to build on her success in others. Other than short breaks and time for lunch, Stephanie remains busy throughout the day, reporting back on completed tasks, and asking for more work when she completes assignments.

At the end of the work day, Saint Martin provides transportation back to school, and Stephanie reconvenes with her friends who spent their day working at other organizations throughout Northeast Ohio. After a day of work, many of our students remain at school for athletics, extra-curriculars or community service opportunities while others leave for jobs outside of school. The effort our students put in to their academics, their jobs, their extra-curriculars and their friendships leads to enormous growth over the course of four years.

Saint Martin students are scholars and young professionals. They are college & career prepared, and ready for life!