What is KA`IMI? KA`IMI, Kamehameha Schools Maui’s (KSM) internship program, is a component of KSM’s career academy curriculum model. It’s a planned learning experience occurring in the workplace, which integrates classroom and work-based learning. The internship is a graduation requirement at KSM. The underlying purposes of KA`IMI are to provide opportunities for students to:
• be introduced to the world of work and learn about basic workplace expectations;
• gain first-hand experiences and knowledge about their career and/or occupational interest; and
• validate or refocus their career interest.
It’s a partnership for learning occurring outside the classroom involving the intern, parents/guardians, host (i.e. business/employer), and KSM.

What are the basic responsibilities of each partner? Each partner has important kuleana (i.e. roles and responsibilities) to fulfill in order for the internship to be successful. The primary kuleana of each partner are as follows:
• Intern: To bring a sincere interest and willingness to learn about his/her chosen career/occupational interest and to exemplify IMUA*.
• Parents/Guardians: To encourage and support their child’s participation in the internship; especially to ensure regular attendance, punctuality, reliability, and serious application to learning.
• Host: To provide a safe work environment (physically, socially and emotionally), which is conducive to learning and to provide meaningful, appropriate, and well-supervised learning experiences and opportunities for the intern.
• KSM: To provide appropriate preparatory services to the intern and the host, support and monitor the internship experience, and to be accessible to all partners.

How many hours of internship must a student complete? Students must complete a minimum of forty (40) hours of internship relating to the student’s academy endorsement.

When do students intern? Students begin interning during their junior year and are encouraged to complete the minimum internship hours by the summer before their senior year. Internships are performed during non-school hours, typically occurring during the school breaks (i.e. winter, spring and/or summer).

Where do students intern? Internships may occur in government/public, private-for-profit or private non-profit organizations willing to provide students with learning opportunities related to the students’ career interests. Click here for KA`IMI Hosts.

How are placements developed/secured? Development of internship placements is meant to be a joint effort between KSM, students, and parents/guardians. Contact with a prospective intern host, which is initiated by a parent/guardian or student who has a direct or indirect relationship with the potential host is often more successful than a “cold call” initiated by KSM’s Career Liaison. Parent/guardian or student leads are followed up by the KSM Career Liaison who is responsible for orienting the prospective intern host to KSM’s internship guidelines and procedures.

How are students placed in an internship? To the extent possible, students are placed in internships with a clear match to their expressed career interest and career academy endorsement. When an appropriate internship is identified, the student’s first task is to complete a pre-placement interview with the prospective internship host. The objectives of the pre-placement interview are to provide opportunities for:
• students to practice job interviewing skills which they learn in class
• the prospective host and intern to get to know each other and assess the “fit” between the student and the prospective placement
• the student to learn first-hand what he/she can expect to learn/experience during the internship and to “negotiate” with the host, inclusion of any learning experience/activity, which was not part of the original internship training plan
In addition to being interviewed by the prospective host, the student is required to interview the host following an established set of interview questions. Information gathered by the student will be used to develop the Internship Training Plan.

What happens after the pre-placement interview? After completing a successful pre-placement interview, the student prepares the Internship Training Plan utilizing a templated format with information gathered during the pre-placement interview. The plan is e-mailed to the host and the KSM Career Liaison for review and approval. The student then performs the internship according to the agreed upon schedule and training plan.

In addition to completing a minimum of forty (40) hours of on-the-job training/work, are there other requirements that the intern must complete? The following are assignments/activities, which the intern is expected to complete during or after the internship is completed.
During the Internship:
• Time Sheet documenting training/work hours
• Daily Journals documenting learning experiences/activities for the day, observations, insights, reactions, etc.
• Career Interview Reports of at least two (2) individuals at the internship site in jobs matching or related to the intern’s career interest
After the Internship:
• Intern Self Assessment of intern’s performance during the internship and the internship experience itself
• Reflection Paper summarizing the intern’s varied learning experiences/activities
• Thank You to the host
• Next Step linking the internship experience to post-high school transition plans

What is the Host responsible for during the internship? In addition to conducting the pre-placement interview, providing meaningful and relevant learning experiences, supporting and guiding the student’s on-the-job learning, and ensuring the intern’s safety during the internship, hosts are asked to complete and/or verify the following:
• Interview Assessment
• Internship Training Plan
• Time Sheet
• Daily Journals
• Intern Performance Evaluation

How is KA`IMI connected to HÖ`IKE NUI, KSM’s Senior Project? KSM’s internship program, KA`IMI, can be an invaluable building block for HÖ`IKE NUI, the senior project. Through the internship, students can identify/clarify topics for their senior projects; gain experiences, information, data, and other resources for inclusion in the senior project; and make important connections and networks among professionals in the community who can serve as the student’s HÖ`IKE NUI mentor. A successful internship experience can provide an important link for continued learning throughout the student’s senior year, culminating in a successful HÖ`IKE NUI.

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* IMUA: Kamehameha Schools Maui’s Expected School-wide Learning Results – Industrious, Moral, Understanding, and Active learners.

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