Autopsies, selling houses and scrubbing down for surgery are all things Franklin Regional High School seniors have experienced as part of the school's internship program this year. And the experiences have helped students figure out what they're looking for and what they're not looking for in a career.

The program can act as a substitute for seniors who have fulfilled the credits needed to graduate. Students are placed into one or more job sites related to careers they want to pursue and are graded by their mentors at the end of the placement.

The program started last year with eight students who were placed in various jobs in the community. This year 18 students were put into placements. Next year the program will accommodate 30 seniors.

Students are drawn to the program because it bolsters their credentials for college and will help them decide what they want to study in college, said Deborah Seighman, the teacher who is in charge of placing the seniors into internship locations.

Senior Tansey Ochs interned at the Westmoreland County Courthouse with the county sheriff's office and the county coroner.

Part of Ochs' internship involves sitting in on court cases. Over the past semester she has witnessed some interesting cases.

"The most absurd case had to do with this couple who had been in court a lot before. They had a fight and she was pressing charges for him hitting her and she wanted a restraining order. Well the judge didn't grant it and found out that they had another hearing set up later that day with him pressing charges against her for the same fight," Ochs said.

Ochs said the internship program has confirmed her desire to pursue a career involving law enforcement. She plans to study criminal justice in college this fall.

Jess O'Toole said she gained a new perspective on the careers from her internships.

"It helped me to become more mature and professional," O'Toole said.

At her first internship for nursing at Forbes Hospital, O'Toole was allowed to scrub down and watch surgery.

"I got to be right there next to the doctors while they operated. It was really cool," O'Toole said.

One of Ochs' favorite parts of being an intern was making connections for the future.

"Two of my supervisors said that I could come back for a college internship, and one of the deputies helped me get into the apartment building I'll be living in next year," Ochs said.

Kevin Lysell picked his career from a class he took in tenth-grade.

Unable to decide what career to research for his project, he took inspiration from his friend's parents who were selling their house at the time, Lysell said.

When he was picking a career to pursue for the internship program he decided to try his hand at Real estate sales.

At his placement with S&T Realty and Rentals and Howard Hanna Realty, Lysell worked on advertising, went over leave expectations and sales assessments.

"I felt like I was an employee. I would come in sometimes and my desk would be covered in papers for me to go over," Lysell said.

O'Toole got to do more hands on work at her second placement at the Children's Institute in Squirrel Hill.

"I actually got to work with the children and do therapy activities with them," O'Toole said.

Lysell learned a few things about the realty business in his first semester of interning.

"It's kind of like a popularity test. People see you on a billboard and think 'he looks nice, let's call him.' No one will call you if you're just some guy down the street no one's heard of," Lysell said.

Other students have done internships at PPG, Jenuine Cakes, Heritage Elementary School and Interior and Architectural Designs at Strada Inc.

There are different job interests among students but there seems to be a trend in education and health careers, Seighman said.

"The medical field is wide open and has a lot of jobs to offer," Seighman said.

Though students enjoy the opportunity to learn outside of school, the rising gas prices have become a growing problem.

"My least-favorite part is having to drive half an hour every day and paying for gas," Ochs said.

Seighman says she is looking into a grant that would cover transportation costs for students.

Overall, Seighman said the interns who were interviewed said the program is beneficial and a good opportunity to test out future careers.

"If you can't take the career for nine weeks how can you take it for the rest of your life?" Lysell said.