Certified Job Ready
Westerville North student receives real-life career experience
Between class work and extracurriculars, many students who get a job during their high school years might find themselves babysitting or working in a restaurant.
That is unless you’re Shrey Shyamalan, a Westerville North senior whose job includes testing and repairing high-grade medical equipment. Shyamalan is one of the few distinguished students to receive the OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal upon graduation.
Through Westerville City Schools’ Work-Based Learning program, Shyamalan earned an internship with the local medical equipment distribution company Right Way Medical. In the job, he learns what working in the technology industry is all about and the experience ensures he can jump into college and a career with confidence.
Putting in the work
Shyamalan became interested in pursuing computer science at a young age, and began learning to code through the internet.
“I mostly tinker around online,” he says. “Seeing basic coding websites, creating websites, apps, that sort of thing, and that helped me realize how much I liked programming and just computer science in general.”
While his internship didn’t involve a lot of code and programming, he gained valuable career experience. Although he had never considered it before, his internship helped him discover his interest in biomedical technology, which he is considering pursuing in the future.
During Shyamalan’s internship with Right Way Medical, which started in June, most of his work focused on IV pumps which taught him how they operate.
“I knew what an IV pump was, but I didn’t know anything about the process of testing it, and now, more or less, I’d say I can test some of them by myself,” he says.
Shyamalan’s personal goals are simply put but difficult in practice: to work hard and be dependable. Dan Saylor, biomedical manager at Right Way Medical, says Shyamalan has definitely exhibited these characteristics during his time working there. Saylor was impressed with how Shyamalan takes initiative, repairing and testing pumps by himself after only a couple of weeks at the company.
“He wants to do things fast and do things at a pace that is comfortable, and man, I’d say (he is) a good hard worker and I like to see that,” Saylor says. “It’s nice to see young kids out there that still want to put in work.”
Practicing passions
Outside of his education and budding career, Shyamalan also plays the piano and is on the tennis team. He also spends a lot of time with his family, often going on walks or traveling. He says he trusts his parents to give him advice and support when he needs it.
“I’d say my parents, they’ve helped me a lot,” Shyamalan says. “They kind of helped me understand the business as well. I occasionally go talk to them about, you know, what I’ve been doing and they can provide some insight.”
As for the future, Shyamalan is still considering what he wants to study or what university he wants to attend, but based on his already-decorated career and work acumen, it’s a safe bet that he’ll see success in whatever he chooses.
Shyamalan says he is grateful for the hands-on experience and hopes the program will continue so that other students can have internships they can learn from and enjoy.
“I think it’s just the practical experience,” he says. “Getting out of the classroom and actually doing physical things with an actual company will help me in the future.”
Maisie Fitzmaurice is an assistant editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mfitzmaurice@cityscenemediagroup.com.
