Sarai Roman, a junior from Benedictine Academy in Elizabeth, interned under history teacher Douglas Sterner, Ph.D during the week of February 19. This internship is part of her school’s “Bee Week,” where juniors choose careers they would like to explore and intern under people with these careers.

History is her favorite subject: “History is a subject I can talk about over and over and not get tired of it,” she said. Ms. Roman also admired her freshman history teacher because the teacher showed a passion that inspired her. In choosing between interning under a teacher from Saint Genevieve School in Elizabeth and the Hive’s Dr. Sterner, she said she chose Dr. Sterner because she heard that Dr. Sterner had written his own textbook, something she wishes to do as well.

According to Ms. Roman, the experience at the Hive is very different from that of Benedictine Academy — for better or for worse. Unlike St. Benedict’s, Benedictine Academy students take eight 45-minute classes a day throughout the entire year, and the class requirements are different. At Benedictine Academy, students must take three years of a language, three years of history, and three years of science. Ms Roman said that the 70-minute blocks at the Hive are better because they better prepare students for college. Students at Benedictine Academy also are required to enroll in the school’s SAT prep classes from freshman year. At Benedictine Academy, students are much quieter and have more homework every night, she said.

The food at Benedictine Academy is “much better,” according to Ms. Roman. Benedictine Academy use Two Sisters Gourmet for its food services. Students pre-order their meals which are then served to them by name.

Ms. Roman also praises the use of the smartboards in the classroom, and finds history teacher Richard Gallerani’s use especially intuitive, saying that she prefers visual teaching to the lecture-style teaching at her school.

As a young woman visiting an all-boys school, Ms. Roman received a lot of attention from students at the Hive. In discussing the students’ reactions to her presence, she said, “I wish they would talk to me instead of staring; it’s like I had five heads.”