INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW

What is internship, and why do we do it at High Tech High Chula Vista?

At High Tech High Chula Vista, we make sure to provide connections to the “adult world” to students at every grade level, but it gets really serious in Junior Year: juniors aren’t just “connected” to the adult world – for five weeks, they’re part of it, working full-time as an intern in a professional organization.

Internships provide students with real world learning experiences, career development, and public service. Meanwhile, host organizations benefit from the contributions of creative and innovative HTH students. If you are interested in receiving more information or have any questions, please contact us.

Features of the Internship Program (FOR MENTORS)

It is up to you as a mentor to decide which internship works best for you: in-person or virtual:

In-person Internship Expectations

• Full-time: 30-40 hours per week

• Students will conduct a mentor interview

• Students will meet regularly with their mentor

• Students create a blog of photo journal documenting their experiences as your intern

At the end of internship, students will present what they’ve learned to parents, teachers, mentor, and fellow students.

• After their internship, every student gives a Presentation of Learning to their mentor, their teachers, and their fellow-students. This culminating event celebrates the student’s accomplishments and offers an occasion for reflection and critique.

• The internship is supported by a class taught at High Tech High Chula Vista, in which students prepare for and reflect on their internship experiences. Intern assignments include a journal, a photo essay, an in-depth interview with their mentor, creation of an internship portfolio, and completion of their internship project.

What you need to do in order to get credit for internship?

• Select an on-site or hybrid internship

• Meet regularly with your mentor

• Work with your mentor to design and complete a project that benefits the organization

• Document your internship and share it with your teachers and your fellow students

• Present what you’ve learned in your internship to your parents, teachers, mentor, and fellow students

Internship Logistics

2025 Internship dates: Internships last for four weeks from Monday, April 28th to Friday, May 30th, 2025

Insurance: Interns are covered by HTH liability insurance while on-site or participating in any activity related to their internship.

Pay: Internships are unpaid. Interns may be paid after internship hours, after school, or in the summer at mentor’s discretion. Donations are accepted to the program for transportation and other expenses.

Transportation: Students and their families are responsible for finding transportation to internship.

The Role of the Mentor

Each student is paired with an on-site mentor who holds a Bachelor’s Degree or higher and understands and supports the goals of the program. Mentors communicate regularly with the HTHCV Internship coordinator about student progress, attendance, and project development. During the five-week immersion, teachers visit the worksites to check in and offer support.

Every mentor must…

• have an college degree or higher

• have an “official”, professional workplace (in other words, not work from home, with the exception of virtual internships)

• not be related to the intern

• be available to the intern throughout the internship

• provide opportunities for the intern to understand the complexities of their job

• attend their intern’s Presentation of Learning (POL) at High Tech High Chula Vista after the internship is complete.

The Internship Project

The student and mentor work together to plan the student’s internship project. It is important to develop a project proposal during the first week of internship (if not before), to ensure that both the mentor and the intern have a clear goal to work towards.

In the past, interns have worked on projects that range from event and marketing support projects, web design projects, recruitment and retention projects with HR department, networking, software and hardware support, and public relations support, including presentations in public forums and in the community. You can see examples of past internship projects here.