Senior High

TSA Earns Six 1st Place Ribbons in Regional Competition

a group of students stands in a classroom holding ribbons from a competition

More than 30 Exeter Township Senior High Technology Student Association (TSA) students attended the Pennsylvania TSA "Tune into Technology" regional competition in Stroudsburg in late January to compete against students from 17 other area schools in individual or team-based categories, including video game design, photographic technology and transportation modeling. This year, students competed in over 25 different individual and team events, with Exeter earning six 1st place ribbons and 18 students qualifying with their technology-based projects to move on to the state competition in April.

Teams and individuals from Exeter who earned ribbons were:

1st Place Winners:

  • Board Game Design Team
  • CAD Engineering, Richter Bogust
  • Flight Endurance, Luke Zawilla
  • Manufacturing Prototype Team
  • Tech. Problem Solving Team
  • STEM Mass Media Team

2nd Place Winners:

  • Music Production Team
  • PA Robotics Team

3rd Place Winners:

  • PA Materials Processing, Dylan Holland
  • PA RC Off Road Team

Congratulations to the whole TSA team, who are:

  • Richter Bogust
  • Zander Bogust
  • Alex Boyer
  • Cooper Devlin
  • Ava Diaz
  • Sterling Elbourne
  • Jonah Gates
  • Dariel Gorre-Ndaiye
  • Julian Greb
  • Dylan Holland
  • Emma Howerter
  • Sirius Hunter
  • Alison Istenes
  • Morgan Kauffman
  • Haley Leal
  • Ella Mackey
  • Cody Manning
  • Tai Morgan
  • Katelyn Nichols
  • Ethan Papich
  • Sarah Patterson
  • Kaitlin Rears
  • Aubrey Ridge
  • Andrew Schwenk
  • Leighton Sharpe
  • Abi Starnes
  • Kal'el Tyler
  • Jocelyn Wert
  • Luke Zawilla

Eagles Nest Cafe Wakes Up SHS Lobby

students stand behind a counter with a menu above them
student puts creamer into a coffee cup with teacher's help
student hands a coffee to a staff member
student uses a pos system while a teacher overlooks his work
student hands a bag of cookies to a staff member

Business was booming this morning at the soft opening of the Eagles Nest Cafe, a newly-envisioned space at the Senior High that brought tables, chairs and a coffee bar to wake up a lifeless lobby outside of the gym and cafeteria. Proudly wearing their Eagles Nest Cafe aprons, students in Mrs. Missy Losito’s Crossroads program operated a credit card POS system, prepared specialty coffees and handed out baked treats they had made earlier in the week to staff members, who were stuffing their tip jar with cash and filling their hearts with smiles as they saw the long-awaited cafe stir to life. 

Funded through the Exeter Community Education Foundation (ECEF), the cafe allows Crossroads students, who are transitional students ages 18-21, additional opportunities to learn the world of work while still being supported and guided by teachers and job coaches. The idea to serve coffee began when Mrs. Losito moved to the SHS from the JHS and started rolling around a coffee cart outfitted with carafes, cups, creamers, sweeteners and homemade treats every other Friday on paydays as she and her students went door-to-door to serve teachers in their rooms. Soon, the coffee cart expanded from one, to two, and eventually three, as it grew in popularity among the staff. Looking to provide even further opportunities for her students to learn how to operate POS systems, take and fulfill more complex orders, stock inventory and experience what it’s like to work in a “real life” cafe, Mrs. Losito partnered with ECEF to bring the Eagles Nest Cafe to life this past year as the Foundation bought chairs, tables, equipment, a credit card POS system and all of the supplies needed to transform the previously-empty lobby into an inviting and warm space for staff and students to relax, study and enjoy conversation over a cup of coffee. Seeing it brought to life today, she said “it made her heart happy” to see her students at work as they were high-fived by staff and their peers who congratulated them on their opening day. 

While the cafe will continue to only operate on a limited basis for staff for the near future, if there’s interest and the manpower to support it, Mrs. Losito would love to see the cafe expand its operations to support more frequent service, as well as potentially offering approved food and drink items to students.

ECEF Executive Director, Ang Cooke, attended the soft opening today with a lump in her throat and a whole lot of pride in her heart. “This one is extra special,” she said as she thought of the Foundation’s work to expand their Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program with local businesses, which provided the funds for the cafe. “Working alongside the district and Corbett, Inc. (who furnished the space) to create a new chapter for the Eagle's Nest Cafe and bring real-life work experience to the students in the Crossroads program has been so amazing and a testament to the opportunities the EITC program can bring to Exeter,” she said. “This,” she said as she pointed to the entire lobby, “is only possible thanks to our generous EITC donors who continue to believe in providing opportunities to our Exeter students.”

Internship Spotlight: Ariel Soto at Negron Law

an internship spotlight flyer featuring a high school girl

Ariel Soto is a senior who just completed her fall internship at Negron Law, LLC, a general practice law firm located in Reading. While there, Ariel handled general clerical work while getting a chance to observe first-hand what daily work is like for the firm's owner, Shay Negron. Ms. Negron said that she was pleased to be a part of Exeter's internship program this year, and said it was "refreshing reminder" about how businesses can play a part in helping educate students. "Having an intern at Negron Law benefits the community, clients and students. The additional assistance, informative questions and curious insights interns bring is an enormous benefit," she said.

Q: Ariel, can you tell us a bit about what your plans are for after graduation? Have you selected a college and a major?
A: I decided I want to be a lawyer, so after graduation I will work to save for college. I am a part of early graduation in January to save money for college. I really want to go to West Chester because of their psychology program. I also want to go to the University of Pittsburgh to study psychology as well. Later on I will go to law school.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your internship? What does a typical day look like for you?
A: I help Attorney Shay with paperwork almost everyday like photocopies, paper copies, and organizing electronic files. Even if I am not doing something at the firm I am always learning from Attorney Shay.
Q: How did you select your internship? Did someone help you select it? Did you seek out the opportunity on your own? Were you asked to do the internship? 
A: My civics teacher, Mr. Witkowski helped me find my internship. He also helped me find my passion for law again. I always wanted to be a lawyer but I lost it my sophomore year into my junior year.
Q: Do you think your internship is helping you feel more confident about your decision to go to college and pursue your major?
A: This internship is helping me build confidence in the law world. This is important because you have to have confidence in this field or you are going to get walked over. This is also teaching me what an in-depth day of being a lawyer is like.
Q: What do you like most about your internship? Is there anything you don't like? 
A: I really like making the physical client files she has at the firm. I like everything here that helps me better myself.

Internship Spotlight: Zori Casiano at Exeter Smiles

an internship spotlight flyer featuring a high school girl

Zori Casiano recently completed an internship at Exeter Smiles, an orthodontic office located near the Senior High. While there, Zori helped the staff with their daily tasks while having a chance to observe orthodontists. Chelsea Stine, Administrative Manager, said that having an intern this past semester allowed her staff to "thrive." She said, "Zori is able to take on necessary daily tasks that would otherwise be the responsibility of our staff. The staff love the extra helping hand as it frees them up to focus on our patients." Furthermore, she said that opening the office to interns has been a rewarding experience for her staff and their business as they see interns learn and take on more responsibilities throughout their semester. "It's a privilege to help give the students their first on-the-job experience. It's a career they're interested in, which makes it that much more rewarding to see them build confidence. The more time you put into teaching them, the greater the benefit to you and your company. Plus, I'm always on the lookout for future employees!"

Q: Zori, can you tell us a bit about what your plans are for after graduation? Have you selected a college and a major?

A: After graduation, I want to go to Pennsylvania College of Technology and major in Biology.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your internship? What does a typical day look like for you?

A: A typical day at my internship I would walk in and say hello to everyone and then grab a mask. I would put all the clean tools away and wait for them to bring me more.

Q: How did you select your internship? Did someone help you select it? Did you seek out the opportunity on your own? Were you asked to do the internship? 

A: With the help of Mr. Ricketts I found the right internship for me.

Q: Do you think your internship is helping you feel more confident about your decision to go to college and pursue your major?

A: Yes, it made me more confident about my decision to go into dentistry. All the new skills and challenges.

Q: What do you like most about your internship? Is there anything you don't like? 

A: The most thing that I liked about my internship was just the whole experience overall and seeing what the dentists do. I also liked how the people were so welcoming. There was nothing that I disliked.

Q: And finally, what would be your advice to a high school student who's thinking about Exeter's internship program?

A: Follow your dreams and do what makes you feel happy. Get the experience and try things out. If you find a career that interests you the must go for it.

Internship Spotlight: Richter Bogust & Jack Mulhare at RPA Engineering

internship spotlight graphic featuring two boys standing in an office

Richter Bogust and Jack Mulhare, both seniors, recently completed a fall internship at RPA Engineering's headquarters in Wyomissing. While there, Richter and Jack worked on various tasks to assist and help organize projects for RPA's engineers and staff. Season Evans, RPA's Director of Marketing and Communications, said that both Richter and Jack's contributions to the team were valuable throughout their fall internship. "As engineering is a licensed profession, interns are not permitted to work on actual client drawings or projects," she explained. "However, there are critical aspects of project preparation where Jack and Richter made significant contributions," specifically mentioning their assistance to help their engineers efficiently create electrical drawings by compiling information for their AutoCAD database. Even though high school interns are limited with the work they can complete as unlicensed employees, Ms. Evans said RPA's experience with them has been worthwhile and positive for their company--as well as their staff. "Richter and Jack's enthusiasm is contagious and fosters a positive, dynamic work environment that benefits from multigenerational learning and diverse perspectives," she said. But more importantly, she emphasized that the community benefits when businesses offer local employment opportunities and insight to the upcoming generation of Berks County workers. "As a company that serves national and international clients, it’s essential for high school students to realize the diverse, challenging and rewarding career opportunities that are available right here in Berks County."

Q: Can you tell us a bit about what your plans are for after graduation? Have you selected a college and a major?

Richter: After graduation, I plan to attend a 4 year college or university to major in Mechanical Engineering. At this point, I'm still undecided on where I will go.

Jack: My plan for after college is to go to a four year college (that I have not chosen yet) in business. I’m going for a degree in actuarial science.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your internship? What does a typical day look like for you?

Richter: Typically, we will get to RPA and get logged into our computers, we then check what tasks we may have been assigned, or are already working on. Throughout our time at RPA, we work to complete these various tasks, which may range from organization of documents or files, entering items into a catalog in AutoCAD (one of the engineering softwares we use) or a spreadsheet, restocking snacks available to the RPA employees, working on projects, advancing our knowledge and capabilities in Engineering softwares such as AutoCAD, Inventor, or Revit, meeting with Engineers and Project Managers, or anything else RPA Engineers and employees need completed.

Jack: On a normal day me and my other interns sit in the back of the office and we work on typing into spreadsheets that were given to us by another engineer. We work together and we work here for 2.5 hours a day.

Q: How did you select your internship? Did someone help you select it? Did you seek out the opportunity on your own? Were you asked to do the internship?

Richter: From when I first learned about Exeter's internship program, I knew that I would love to participate in an Engineering internship. During my junior year, I began working with Mr. Ricketts and a few other people from Exeter who were able to help get me possible connections. The first place that I was working with ended up falling through and I kept looking for another option. At the end of the school year, Mr. Ricketts was able to connect me with RPA.

Jack: I wanted an internship because it is something that every high school student should do. At the time I wanted to go into Engineering so I asked Mr. Rickett for help to find me an internship.

Q: Do you think your internship is helping you feel more confident about your decision to go to college and pursue your major?

Richter: This internship is showing me what engineering work is like in the real world and confirming my decision to go into the field.

Jack: This internship has been helpful because it helped in my decision to lean the other way to business.

Q: What do you like most about your internship? Is there anything you don't like?

Richter: I like most that we are able to have the opportunity to be in the environment with the engineers to see what it is like on a daily basis in an engineering company. I also like being able to speak with all the different engineers and be able to hear about what they do.

Jack: What I like most about this internship is working with my friends the whole time. I was never alone or working by myself, which is what made this time so much better.

Q: And finally, what would be your advice to a high school student who's thinking about Exeter's internship program?

Richter: I would highly recommend Exeter's internship program to any high school student that is considering an internship. An internship would give you an opportunity to "try out" a career and see what it is really like in the real world, while also earning class credit. An internship may confirm that this is what you want to do in your future, or change your mind about what exactly you want to do, even if it is only slightly.

Jack: I think everyone should do an internship in an actual outside workplace because it not only informs you about your field, but it gives you so much knowledge on basic things, such as how it feels to be in an office or inside a cubicle.

Internship Spotlight: Hannah Benderoth at the O’Pake Institute

an internship spotlight flyer featuring a high school girl

Hannah Benderoth is a senior who completed a fall semester internship in marketing at the O'Pake Institute for Economic Development at Alvernia University in Reading. The program, which partners college students with businesses to mutually benefit both, recently began offering internships to high school students to also offer them an opportunity to work on and gain experience in high-impact projects that fuel learning while providing valuable skills to local businesses, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and government and community partners. While in her internship, Hannah pitched a possible business idea, which earned her an O'Pake Excellence award for going above and beyond. She worked with various start-up businesses on business card design, websites and more.

Q: Hannah, can you tell us a bit about what your plans are for after graduation? Have you selected a college and a major?

A: After high school, I am planning on attending a four-year university with a major in digital marketing. I am mainly focused on Alvernia University due to their opportunities throughout the university and at O’Pake, although, I have not fully committed anywhere yet. After I get my degree, I plan to pursue a career in the digital marketing field.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your internship? What does a typical day look like for you?

A: As a marketing and media intern at Alvernia University’s O’Pake Institute, I get to work on a lot of creative projects for actual businesses in the area. I have done a fully independent website design for a publishing business, a few collaborative website designs, multiple business card creations, branding and mission presentations for companies, product research, and much more. On a typical day, I come into the office and plan out my day. I talk to my mentor to see if there is anything new she has for me to do, and then I get to work on my projects. As a digital marketing focus I am on my computer most of the day using softwares such as Wix, Canva, and Powerpoint. I communicate with other staff members and interns throughout the day and attend business meetings when scheduled.

Q: How did you select your internship? Did someone help you select it? Did you seek out the opportunity on your own? Were you asked to do the internship?

A: I found this internship through Mr. Ricketts, the internship coordinator at Exeter. I was struggling to find an internship that had exactly what I was looking for and he suggested O’Pake to me. I reached out to O’Pake, set up an interview, and found myself starting there at the beginning of the fall semester this year.

Q: Do you think your internship is helping you feel more confident about your decision to go to college and pursue your major?

A: The O’Pake Institute has been the biggest factor in deciding what I am doing with my future. Before senior year, I had no clue what I wanted to do or where I wanted to do it. When I started getting experiences at O’Pake in the field that I am in, that really settled it for me. I fell in love with the opportunities that Alvernia University gave and continues to give me, and I finally found a career field that fully interests me.

Q: What do you like most about your internship? Is there anything you don't like?

A: I like a lot of things about O’Pake, but something I always love to highlight is the fact that I can work with real businesses and companies at a high school level. They make sure I have all the help and materials I need, but otherwise I get creative freedom. I always get opportunities that are enjoyable and beneficial to me. Nothing ever feels like busy work, and I am building both hard and soft skills while I am communicating and working with clients. I also like to
mention to people that O’Pake has more than just marketing opportunities; they have interns who focus in communications, finance, and even engineering. I think it is really cool that they offer opportunities to people with many different interests. Although, one thing I would mention is that the workload varies from focus to focus, at least from what I have seen. Sometimes I will have five different projects, and others will only have one or two depending on what they are interning for and for how long they are interning for. I wouldn’t say that is a bad thing, but definitely something to note. They will never give you too much work and they will help those feeling overwhelmed with their workloads too. I really have nothing but good things to say about O’Pake.

Q: And finally, what would be your advice to a high school student who's thinking about Exeter's internship program?

A: If you are a high school student thinking about the internship program I would definitely recommend going for it. Make sure you find an internship that you will both enjoy and get a lot out of. Even if it doesn’t end up being something that you want to pursue, it will at least help you figure that out and let you dip your feet into real-world work experiences.