By Cassie Honeycutt, Features Editor
The nerves are natural for new interns, who want to do everything possible to avoid messing up and giving that new boss a bad first impression.
So as the security alarm blared and panic set in as she listened for the wail of police sirens, there was only one thing Jackie Montes could do. She called Keely Owens and explained that the simple task of changing a lampshade had gotten a bit more complicated.
Montes and Darci Kenny can laugh about it now, but that first interior decorating task for Owens and Indehouse Designs LLC turned out to be pretty stressful. Welcome to the real world: Right from the start of their internship, the seniors were helping Owens pick out wallpaper for a flattop home in Southern Shores.
“I thought it was going to be, OK, here’s papers, file them.’ Instead, it is, ‘Hey, today we’re going on a field trip. Who wants to go to this house in Southern Shores?’ ” Kenny said. “ ‘Let’s go look at it. What do we think we could do?’ ”
Both Kenny and Montes wish to further their knowledge of interior design, so both were eager to intern with Owens. Kenny has wanted to do interior design since the beginning of high school and was enthusiastic to see where this opportunity would take her.
“Finally being able to get in with somebody who does it and see little things that you don’t think about and little ins and outs of it, it’s just really fascinating,” Kenny said.
Montes has also shared the interest of interior design ever since she was little.
“I picked this internship because I have always liked decorating and designing different things,” Montes said. “This internship helps me see the big outlook on the job and gives me a good picture of what I’m going to expect later on and to pursue my career.”
Montes has enjoyed every part of the internship and is taking in every aspect of the job.
“I wouldn’t consider anything to be my least favorite part because it’s all part of the job,” Montes said. “Whether you take a long time sorting fabrics and looking at a list of prices to cancel out or a long time looking for the right furniture to put the home together, it’s all part of the experience. If you don’t do one or the other, then you will have a huge mess that you would have to do either way.”
On the first day, the girls were nervous and intimidated by the thought of interior designing, but Owens quickly calmed their fears.
“She’s been so nice and open with us. She has never judged any decisions we’ve made,” Kenny said. “If we make a decision that’s obviously not a good idea she says, ‘Or we could do this.’ It’s nice to see somebody in a profession that I look up to who’s not a jerk or pretentious. She’s down to earth and that’s really nice.”
Kenny and Montes aren’t the only First Flight students who have taken advantage of internships in special services. Senior Jack Clagett is interning at Bayliss Boatworks in the exterior carpentry department.
“My favorite part is learning about the trade and learning all the various tools needed and all the other skills provided. And it’s all the little detail that they go into on the boats. It’s crazy,” Clagett said.
With an empty space in his senior year schedule, Clagett wanted to fill it with an internship and he managed to find one he was interested in after visiting with internship coordinator Kathy Neal.
“Growing up on a farm, always working with my hands and always doing stuff and getting dirty, I love the idea of knowing the skill versus knowledge,” Clagett said.
With the end of senior year approaching sooner than they know, these students are appreciative of the opportunity that has been given to them.
“As of right now, we aren’t missing out on college,” Kenny said. “It’s part of our curriculum and we get honors credit for the internship. There is really no reason for not taking advantage of it. It only benefits you.”
Junior Cassie Honeycutt can be reached at 21honeycuttca35@daretolearn.org.
