Shaping Future Leaders: NAF Student and Coach Reflections on District C’s Teamship Program

Through NAF’s partnership with District C, a nonprofit that is preparing the next generation of diverse talent for modern work, students and educators have had the unique opportunity to take part in District C’s Teamship program — an innovative internship experience through which teams of students solve real problems for real businesses. Teamship brings valuable work-based learning directly to students in an equitable way and District C’s Coaching Institute trains and certifies educators to bring the Teamship model back to their classrooms. Teamship provides NAF teachers with a framework for doing Mentored Industry Projects, and Teamship counts towards internship hours.

Recently, District C and NAF caught up with students and coaches who have participated in the program. Read on to hear more of what Clarence High School had to say, as NAF celebrated Alumni Month this November!

Clarence High School, Clarence, NY 

Teacher/Coach: Heather Hartmann; First Time Coaching with District C 

Student: Karl G.; Graduated in 2023 and is currently majoring in electrical engineering and aspires to get a master’s in business at the University of Buffalo.

How did you learn about Teamship? 

Karl: Ms. Hartmann had asked if I wanted to be part of the program and I said YES! It sounded interesting to gain experience working in teams and develop leadership skills, as well as interact more closely with our community. I wanted to tackle the challenge head on! 

Heather: One of my local representatives from NAF asked me to think about participating with District C and explained that it was all about offering students authentic opportunities vs. textbook learning. I aim to provide students with opportunities that reach outside of our home community, to open them up to new experiences. 

Describe how it felt to work with your team and business partner. 

Karl: I have a passion for helping veterans and had the VA as my business partner. It was very eye opening, working with a diverse group, and the experience helped me to navigate forming better teams, and in turn, become a better leader. 

What was it like assembling your Teamship group? 

Heather: As part of NAF, students have the unique opportunity to participate in internships and through the Teamship program, we were able to carve out two hours before the regular school day began and pair up the students. We really enjoyed the experience and are partnered with the VA once again, and now it’s a part of the class vs. a before-school program. 

Take readers through the day-of pitch to the VA – what did that entail?

Karl: I would describe it as a lot of nervous excitement!I had never presented to that many people before, but everything came together during the pitch. I was able to channel all of that energy into delivering my presentation and felt incredible afterwards! 

Heather: While the time of COVID and living in a post-pandemic world presented its own challenges, we were able to present in front of C-level executives in person, and the IT department livestreamed into VA in Washington DC. I had asked District C for a local and national partner – they were able to provide one in the VA hospital – and the executive board, other business partners, parents, and more listened to the pitches. Upon completion, the US government even texted in questions to be asked of the students. It was really nice to see parents and have a lot of support!

Are there any skills from the Teamship program that you are continuing to use presently in college? 

Karl: Absolutely! I am continuing to sharpen my leadership skills, as well as my team-building skills, that have helped me to be a better facilitator and value different perspectives and ideas. 

What was your experience like through the Coaching Institute (CI) and coaching students through the Teamship program?

Heather: It’s been fantastic to get to work with different people and see the world through a different lens. When I worked on coaching with my students, I wanted to be as true to the program as possible. Something that we learned was essential to the project was having EMPATHY, because we heard so many emotional stories, and it helped to increase my students’ understanding of careers in the VA.

What would you share with other NAF Academies about the Teamship program? 

Heather: When you really look at the objective and build a talent base, the work-readiness skills that you develop, as part of this class, far exceeds anything you can do in a paper and pencil classroom. Students excel at working together and improve their communication, think outside of the box, and stretch their thinking to come up with innovative solutions. If we can build these successful skills in school, then the workforce is going to be better, because of it! 

Do you have any closing words of wisdom for other high school students? 

Karl: “Try and do as much as you can!”

To learn more about how to use District C’s Teamship as a framework for Mentored Industry Projects, please visit the NAF/District C Resources page.