Pacific Life has long recognized the importance of helping communities address and resolve their problems and has a record of community involvement that spans the history of the company. In turn, the Pacific Life Foundation also has a long tradition of supporting nonprofits in the Orange County area.

In 2008, the Foundation approached Education Partnerships, Inc. (EPI) to develop, pilot and manage a partnership experience that would train and place selected high school students as interns in Orange County nonprofit agencies. This partnership brought together the Pacific Life Foundation's commitment to nonprofit agencies with a focus on supporting high school youths as they began to make important career and higher education decisions.

The Pacific Life Foundation Nonprofit Internship Experience (PLF NIE) partners included the Foundation, 32 nonprofit agencies, 32 enthusiastic high school sophomores and juniors, two high school teachers and principals, with program management by EPI, that created a dynamic and productive education and summer work experience.

Based on research that has shown that students who engage in this type of intern experience, PLF NIE saw several key benefits to this pilot business/education partnership for qualifying students:

• Improved attitudes toward school, attendance and overall school adjustment and performance;
• Development of a positive work ethic and orientation to client and customer service;
• Stronger focus on career interests and goals, and understanding of the connections between academic skills and workplace requirements;
• Positive adult mentor relationships that assist in good decision making and personal development;
• Increased personal success, which may motivate interest in other school subjects and activities; and
• Specialized learning experiences that could not be provided within the confines of the classroom.

PLF NIE had five specific goals, all of which were met:

• To provide students with a real-world workplace experience in which they must apply fundamental academic and interpersonal skills to be successful;
• To link academic program content with the workplace;
• To provide students with workplace and school-based supervisors to help them adjust to the demands of the modern work environment;
• To motivate students to develop a strong work ethic, achievement orientation and client/customer focus; and
• To introduce students to the roles of nonprofits in their community.

Students eligible to apply had to meet established prerequisites that addressed grade-point average, attendance, on-track to graduate as well interest in the nonprofit sector and volunteer experience. The student interns were generally representative of the schools in which they were enrolled. In addition to gender and ethnic diversity, the selection process sought to identify promising students from differing academic levels. Approximately one-third of the students came from each of the top three grade point average categories: A through C. Those students that successfully completed the program received a $1,000 award.

PLF NIE began in the 2009 spring semester, with students and teacher-advisors from University and Woodbridge high schools in Irvine, California. The students participated in a 10-week class consisting of eight modules designed to prepare them for the nonprofit workplace. Curriculum modules were created to cover workplace readiness content and provide activities for class meetings and discussions. Each of these modules required several hours of student preparation and directed them to prepare assignments to carry into their class meetings. Additionally, the classroom-based instruction and pre-internship experience included attention to workplace behavior and norms, the intern-employer relationship, interpersonal communication and relationships, cooperation and teamwork, workplace ethics and legal issues, and other relevant topics recommended by the nonprofit partners.

Students judged to be ready for workplace internships were placed with local nonprofit partners, working 120 hours for the agency from late June through mid-August. As interns, students engaged in the full range of activities and tasks associated with managing a contemporary nonprofit organization: administrative support, fundraising, client service, research, public relations and organizational development. In performing these tasks, students used a number of academic skills they already possessed, such as technology infusion, research, writing and second languages, as well as a host of others that they developed on the job site, including specific knowledge in the area of the nonprofits' activities and workplace-related technical and interpersonal skills.

The results of this business/education pilot partnership proved to be a win-win for all. Starting with the students, virtually all of the students reported learning a great deal about how nonprofits operated and the assets they bring to the community. A significant number indicated that, as a result of the internship, they would consider nonprofit work as a career. Even among those who did not see a nonprofit career in their employment future, the level of commitment to nonprofit work was high, and a vast majority of students said that they planned to work with and support the efforts of nonprofits as members of the community.

Responses from the nonprofit agencies in which the students worked also were very positive, with 100 percent of them wanting not only to stay involved, but also being open to take another intern in the future. All of the nonprofit intern supervisors reported that the interns made valuable contributions to their organizations. When asked to list interns' accomplishments, the nonprofit supervisors described a tremendous range of achievements, from rewriting all of the organization's personnel and policy manuals and redesigning their Web site to "bringing the agency into the social networking world" by setting up Facebook and Twitter capacities.

The teacher-advisors stated that seeing students mature and grow both personally and intellectually trumped most other outcome measures, but also identified other significant achievements as well. These ranged from interns indicating that they now planned a career in a nonprofit agency, wanted to explore nonprofits as a career option or that for the first time they were thinking seriously about how their actions and energy can make a difference in the community. Teacher-advisors also were encouraged that these students took some risks and pushed themselves to do things they had not done before, including taking on additional responsibilities and becoming great team players looking for new ways to contribute and to support the agency's programs. In almost every case, the teachers heard that the interns were quick learners when they had to pick up a new skill and that they had a great attitude toward learning new tasks and skills.

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