Graham School in Columbus offers high school seniors a chance to 'Walkabout' careers

Standing in a room of about 12 students in Chandni Patel's social studies class, Ethan Frazier was nervous.

The high school senior paced the front of the classroom in his navy and green hoodie and black jeans while his cheeks were almost as red as the Nike mask covering the lower part of his face. He was trying to teach his fellow classmates a lesson on the Articles of Confederation, the first written constitution for the United States in 1781.

"I thought that you said that our constitution is called the Constitution?" a student asked.

"Well, it's the first constitution of the original 13 colonies in the U.S.," Frazier responded before moving to the next slide in his PowerPoint presentation.

He was lecturing the class last month as part of his teaching assistant internship at the Graham School, a charter high school in Clintonville. Consisting of 250 students in grades 9-12, the tuition-free school's focus is providing experiential education in a small-school setting.

The unpaid internship program is referred to as a "Walkabout" by students and staff, and stems from a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood practiced for centuries by Australian Aborigines.

At Graham, Walkabout is specifically for 12th grade students who want to develop their skills and abilities outside of a traditional classroom setting, according to the school website. Usually held during the second semester, students can explore everything from the arts to welding to the nonprofit sector to a job at the school.

While other area school districts, including Columbus City Schools and Worthington City Schools, have internship programs, the amount of time teens get to spend at their Walkabout placement sets it apart.

Graham students work at their Walkabout site for at least three days a week, according to Mary Slaback, community ambassador and internship coordinator. Some can even work five days a week if they have completed their schoolwork for the year.

"To me, it's just so much more than the classroom experience," Slaback said. "It's personal because it's one-on-one. It's not a group effort."

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Creating new experiences through Graham School's 'Walkabout' program

Graham's motto, "Encounter the world, engage the mind," has been the cornerstone for the Walkabout program since Slaback became the coordinator about 13 years ago.

This year, 55 seniors are doing their Walkabouts throughout the community at places like The Laughing Ogre comic book shop in Clintonville, Russell Myers Welding and Metal Fabrication in Gahanna, and Stowe Mission of Central Ohio, a nonprofit on Columbus' South Side.

The pandemic has caused the number of participating businesses to be smaller in the past two years, giving students more limited options.

"All of the COVID ripples that are affecting society, we feel it big time here," Slaback said. "And so, we're trying to work together to just do the best we can to give (students) an experience that's outside of what they would normally do in any high school — volunteering, internships, finding out what they're passionate about, what they're interested in."

For Frazier, that passion is teaching history.

The Hilltop resident said he initially thought about becoming a social worker, but believes that his love of learning and helping other students learn would be better suited in the classroom.

Some of the responsibilities Frazier takes on in Patel's class include writing things on the whiteboard or answering questions from students. Creating a lesson on federalism was the biggest challenge Frazier has faced so far.

"There's a lot of information that you need to put in there, but, of course, they're high school students; if you put too much in there, they're not going to pay attention," he said. "What was hard for me was finding a balance between what actually needed to be in there and what I needed to leave out."

Frazier said he hopes to become a high school or college history teacher eventually because he wants to help young people form their own thoughts and opinions without outside influence.

"Of course, there's always gonna be certain biases that we have as people, but as long as we're able to look through them and genuinely get our own thoughts and opinions on them, then I think that will altogether make the world a better place," he said.

Pursuing a passion and maybe even finding a job

Meanwhile, Helen Shapoval, 18, spends three days a week at Kobolt Studios in Franklinton.

Shapoval, who lives in that neighborhood, said she has always enjoyed drawing, but was unsure of what to select for her Walkabout.

"I thought of doing art classes online, but then Mary showed me Kobolt," she said. "I enjoy the environment and atmosphere. I was told to just explore."

Sandra Ulibarri, co-owner of Kobalt and Shapoval's mentor, said the art shop has been a partner for Graham's internship program for about seven years. She said Shapoval is present, helpful and an eager learner.

"You can tell she's happy to be here," she said.

Selena Schaney, of Columbus, interns at Reale Dog Training in Gahanna five days a week, shadowing owner and mentor Phil Reale.

Sometimes she works with dogs in the board and train program, where canines stay at the facility between five and 15 days to receive training. Other days, Schaney and Reale will go to client's homes and conduct in-home training.

"I love it," she said. "It's so fun. I love seeing all the different breeds."

One recent March afternoon, Schaney was hard at work training Libby, a Rottweiler, with an employee.

"Libby, come!" Schaney said.

The large dog moved away from the employee and trotted toward the 17-year-old inside the training ring. Schaney smiled and stuck out her index finger to give Libby a piece of Kraft cheese as a reward.

Schaney said she originally wanted to be a veterinary technician, but after taking some classes at Columbus State Community College, she decided to pursue a career as a dog trainer. Reale said he plans to hire Schaney when the Walkabout ends in May.

"What is really cool is we have a senior high school student and I'm chipping away at her and she's going to be the new face of this," Reale said. "When I'm no longer here, she will be the new face and she will be the one teaching people what to do."

mwalker@dispatch.com

@micah_walker701

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Graham School in Clintonville lets graduating seniors explore careers