Twin Valley High School senior Chelsea Hurley has been named Twin Valley’s April Intern of the Month.
Throughout the year she has taken on three internships.
Since the beginning of the year she has been working with Twin Valley social studies teacher and Twin Valley High School Mini-Thon Club Advisor Lance Chappelle. She helps to organize and orchestrate events to raise money for children with pediatric cancer.
As one of the two Mini-THON overalls for this school year, each day she works on planning events to help raise money for children fighting cancer. She coordinates events that get our community involved in this organization. Throughout the year so far, Hurley said she has learned how to deal with adversity and how to overcome times when things do not go smoothly or the way they were planned.
“Chelsea does an excellent job organizing all of the moving parts of different fundraisers,” Chappelle said. “She is a tremendous person who leads by example which is what makes her such a great co-overall!”
As of recently, Hurley has been working on the reboot of the Mr. Twin Valley competition. She said it highlights her favorite part about being in the club – making the community a better, more united, and spirited community.
At the start of the second semester, Hurley began interning with Twin Valley teacher Diane Abbadusky’s second grade class at Twin Valley Elementary Center. Each day she gets to engage with the students and builds meaningful connections with them. She is not only able to teach them, but can listen to them, and be their support when they need it.
Hurley was inspired to become a teacher by her own 8th grade teacher who demonstrated how impactful the job can be.
“Chelsea exhibits a kind and friendly attitude towards all the students in the classroom and is thoughtful in her interactions,” said Abbadusky. “The students really look forward to her coming in each morning. She has become a wonderful part of our classroom community.”
On the regular day-to-day, she works with a small group of students and teaches them the lesson that they missed while they were in small reading support groups. Hurley said she realizes the importance of teachers who truly care, and hopes to make a career out of this, so she can continue her positive influence with students.
In addition to her other internships, Hurley works alongside Twin Valley’s director of athletics Taylor Parker. Chelsea began this internship with the hopes of being able to grow her leadership and organization skills. She has learned what it’s like to be behind the scenes of Twin Valley athletics.
Each week she is tasked with updating the weekly newsletter, which she views as a tremendous advantage. Being a huge player in the community culture, Chelsea views this internship as a way to stay engaged and updated in the community, as well as and opportunity to showcase Twin Valley.
“Chelsea takes all tasks I give her and runs with them,” said Parker. “She has done a fantastic job and I am able to give her more responsibility and more tasks.”
Hurley is also involved in Mini-THON, Student Council, National Honors Society, High School Heroes, Varsity Club, Spanish Honor Society, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, and the Youth Advisory Board. She also lifeguards at the Twin Valley Recreation Association and the Valley Ponds Community Pool.
After high school, Hurley plans to attend Quinnipiac University in the fall to study elementary education, as well as play lacrosse on their Division 1 team.
To know more about Twin Valley’s Internship Program, contact Angela Morgan at amorgan@tvsd.org.
Written by Twin Valley student writer Paige Crunkleton
