ProPel propels HHS seniors to future job prospects

As the first semester comes to a close, ProPEL (Professionals Providing Experience for Life) students are just beginning their endeavors in many different career fields.

ProPEL is a career oriented class designed to prepare seniors for future jobs and allows them to get first hand experience in a career field. Students spend the first semester of the year contacting professionals in a career they’re interested in to land an interview with them.

Some of the internships ProPEL students have begun this year include product engineers, genetic counsellors, pediatricians, and private equity firms.

Mr. Jesse Theirl, Business Ed and ProPEL Advisor, has been teaching ProPEL since it began in 2008 and believes that ProPEL is a great way to help students transition into their desired careers.

“Ever since ProPEL began, it has been a successful program in preparing students for their future,” Theirl said. “Every year is a little different and this year there is a big focus on business, specifically finance, and if you’re not in one of those you’re probably in a medical related field.”

After 12 interviews throughout the first semester, Nhan Le, senior, began her internship at the Frauenshuh Cancer Center at Park Nicollet on Jan. 5. The center opened in 2009 and is dedicated to genetic counseling, cancer screenings, and integrative therapy.

“I wanted to intern at the Frauenshuh Cancer Center because I have always been interested in genetics,” Le said. “They also have a wide variety of genetic counsellors at Park Nicollet that I hope to learn from.”

Danny Dolan and Eliza Ratliff, seniors, also took on internships in medicine, but at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). Dolan’s interest in emergency medicine and Ratliff’s interest in nursing led them to find internships at HCMC.

“I’m interning for Dr. Jeffrey Ho, an emergency room physician at HCMC. I wanted to intern for him because of my interest in emergency medicine and my positions in medicine and past training,” Dolan said.

Even before ProPEL, Dolan had been taking the steps to have a future in emergency medicine. He recently became a certified EMT and is also a certified lifeguard and ski patrol, allowing him to get a feel of what a career in emergency medicine might be like.

“Being able to actually experience what is going on in an emergency room is crazy. You see everything you can imagine, even on the first day,” Dolan said.

Ratliff landed an internship with Gretchen Drangeid, a nurse anesthetist at HCMC, to pursue her interest in nursing.

“I hope that this internship will help me see what my life would really be like if I were to pursue this career, and help me get a clearer view on what I want to do in my future,” Ratliff said. “The first days have been amazing. I saw a brain surgery the first day and a C-section for twins the second day.”

At the end of day, Theirl’s main goal for this class is to help students find a passion that they can see themselves doing in the future.

“ProPEL basically gives students a lense to look through to help them decide, ‘Do I want to do this? Do I want spend four year in college studying this?’ It puts the experience before the education which makes their education more relevant,” Theirl said.