By Brandon Nguyen
As second semester approaches, students may want to consider what they may want to spend their summer doing. An advantage of living in an urban setting like Orange County is that there are many prestigious and rewarding opportunities from all different backgrounds to explore their interests and get involved in the community.
UCI Internships
The University of California Irvine (UCI) has two cancer-research programs for high school students that are both currently accepting applications.
The first is California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) that is a four-week residential program for students who have proven an aptitude in STEM subjects. This means recipients will need strong grades in their STEM classes, especially those taking AP STEM classes. This experience is very hands-on and participants will need to bring items to dorm at UCI. This program is lab intensive and is geared towards those with an affinity for lab research who have already taken chemistry or biology.
The typical COSMOS applicant has a GPA of 3.5 or above, and applications are due Feb. 10 at 11:59 p.m. This program extends to UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz, with each campus taking around 160-200 applicants. Interested students can check out the UCI COSMOS Instagram page and Youtube vlogs highlighting students’ experiences.
Tuition for UCI Cosmos for the 2023 program is $4,770 for room and board, but students are able to apply for financial aid.
The other program is the Youth Science Fellowship Program that lasts six weeks, allowing students to spend over 30 hours in research labs and complete a mentor-guided research project. This program is more exclusive than COSMOS, only accepting around 20 current juniors and seniors per year. Acceptances are based on “academic merit, needs of UCI research labs, and inclusion and diversity metrics.” Students must be available for all six weeks of the program and agree to present their project at the end of the year research symposium.
Applications for the Youth Science Fellowship Program are due Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. Unlike the COSMOS program, this program is free, but students will need transportation to UCI since it is not residential.
Political Internships
Orange County is in a swing congressional district with both Republican and Democratic parties pouring millions of dollars into this area into political ads and campainging. This means hotly contested elections that can be beneficial learning experiences and can lead to career opportunities for students who work on the winning campaign
Currently, Fountain Valley is in California’s 45th Congressional District that is represented by Republican Congresswoman Michelle Steel and is being challenged by Garden Grove Councilmember, Democrat Kim Bernice Nguyen. California’s 45th Congressional District is likely to be hotly contested again in 2024 with Steel winning her 2022 election by 4.8% or 10,494 votes.
High school students can easily become involved in congressional campaigns, as campaigns are always looking for more volunteers to phonebank, doorknock and more. However, each campaign has their own infrastructure and opportunities for students looking for leadership positions. With the 2024 presidential election looming, working on any of these campaigns is likely to be highly rewarding.
Students can sign up to volunteer for the 2024 election cycle can contact Michelle Steel’s campaign on her website and on Kim Bernice Nguyen’s campaign on her website.
Those who do not live in Fountain Valley may want to search up their current representative and their local challenger.
GWC Concurrent Enrollment
The Huntington Beach Union High School District, which includes Fountain Valley High School (FVHS), has paired up with Golden West College (GWC) for students to take college-level courses either on campus or online. This is a great way for students to fulfill any high school credits they may want to get out of the way or to accelerate their learning so they can take higher level courses the next school year. For example, students can take regular chemistry at GWC over the summer in order to take AP Chemistry during the Fall and Spring semesters at FVHS.
Furthermore, the school’s partnership means that many of these classes are free, and the many online classes makes it accessible for students who may not have transportation. Students will need to keep in mind that there are prerequisites for many courses. For example, students who may want to take Spanish 2 at GWC will need to complete Spanish 1 first.
Concurrent enrollment requires approval from both the school and GWC, and registration for the summer term begins April 10. Students can view a list of approved courses here and be on the lookout at the GWC website for when the application opens. It is suggested that students who are unfamiliar with signing up get started on this process early to allow the school and GWC to approve them. However, concurrent enrollment is a great way for students to get ahead on courses and show academic rigor. An important note, though, is that these GWC courses show up on students’ high school transcripts, so it is imperative that they try their best. Any withdrawals will show up on their transcript.
Pairing with Local Organizations
Staying committed to a local organization is an easy way to move up into leadership positions and maybe even receive a period position. This may involve some cold-emailing and researching, but long job volunteering positions at museums, local libraries and other local organizations can create strong connections that can later lead to good letters of recommendations or another opportunity.
Some coveted organizations to volunteer at are Bowers Museum, the local Fountain Valley Recreation Center, the Fountain Valley American Red Cross Blood Donation center and more. It is important for students to find opportunities that align with their career goals and personal interests so that they can maintain commitment and passion.
A Final Note
It is important to remember that high school is a time for exploration and learning about one’s self. Whether it is traveling to the Bahamas with your family or looking into an internship over the summer, it is important to follow a genuine interest and see summer as a time for personal growth.
With summer being a burden-free time from academics, high school students are still young enough to test out many different opportunities and get early experience on what is out there.
