As a junior, Ashika was keen to get marketing experience in a real business environment; but like most high school students, securing one wasn’t easy. Through Empowerly, she was able to intern with Spero Ventures where she managed the social media platforms, regularly posting and sending marketing emails for the company over a summer. Keep reading to hear how this program is helping real students.
Impossible odds?
Most high schoolers like Ashika, hit a wall when looking for internships. A search on Chegg brings up internships that are mostly targeted at college students. Not only that, but opportunities are even more scarce during the pandemic. According to Glassdoor, over 1 in 2 U.S. internship openings have been closed since the coronavirus crisis began in March of 2020. How can high school students compete with college students who have more experience and specialized knowledge? It’s asking the impossible of a company to take a chance and hire a high school student, right?
Wrong!
While they are difficult to land on your own, they can be secured with the help of Empowerly. Through Empowerly’s High School Internship Program, we have helped many students find one. We began this program four years ago as we saw a real lack of targeted help available to high school students. Our students could see the benefits of an internship— like helping them get into better colleges, providing a competitive advantage when looking for a college internship or full-time job, and yielding better-paying jobs. Parents were also pushing their children to focus on careers during high school but weren’t able to help them out.
Unique opportunity to stand out
There is little research done on the percentage of high school students who have found an internship, but a survey by Workplace Intelligence found that 77% of high school students are either extremely or very interested in volunteering to gain work experience.
Given our close proximity to startups and the tech industry in Silicon Valley, we were able to make connections with local startups looking for interns. We are currently one of the only college admission counseling companies that match students with internships in startups.
As an intern, you get to wear many hats and engage in all kinds of tasks. In many ways, you make what you want out of the job, as a startup really requires you to work proactively, and help out on all sorts of tasks. We’ve found that our interns have found real satisfaction from this involvement. These internships aren’t just a number in a large company doing coffee runs for the boss, but get to do impactful and meaningful work, helping small businesses to build from the ground up.
99% of our students who apply through Empowerly’s High School Internship Program were offered an internship.
When we began Empowerly´s High School Internship program, our internships were offered over the summer. However, with the pandemic, many of our students have struggled to stay involved in extracurricular activities. So we decided to offer the program throughout the year. Internships are also offered remotely, making it accessible for students across the country to get involved. Our students do a variety of roles including software engineering, marketing, business development, product management, teaching, and sales, to name just a few. Most are offered on a part-time basis which makes it easier for students to combine with their high school coursework or other extracurricular activities.
We’ve partnered with several different startups over the years, but this year some of our partners include:
Recently I sat down with Ashika, a junior in California, and Raja, from the startup Spotidol, to chat about their experience with the Empowerly Internship program.
Ashika, a junior in the Bay Area of California, completed an internship in the summer of 2020.
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
My name is Ashika. I am currently a Junior. I’ve been playing volleyball for around 6 years and I am on my school’s varsity team. Believe it or not, I enjoy school, especially history and literature. I hate math with a passion but I am pretty decent at it. I am thinking of majoring in Business Marketing/Business and I hope to go to college in a big city near the coast.
Why did you join Empowerly’s Internship Program?
I joined Empowerly’s Internship Program because I wanted to be able to immerse myself and understand how marketing works in real businesses and test if it was a field I wanted to get into.
What companies did you intern at?
So far I have interned at Spero Ventures and am applying to intern at others.
What was your internship experience like?
For my internship, I worked under the marketing lead for the company. I had multiple weekly meetings with her and meetings with the whole team at the company as well. For my responsibilities, I mainly controlled the social media platforms for the company and drafted tweets and posts on Twitter, Linkedin, and Instagram. I also sent out emails and did any extra work they needed me to do.
What do you think makes a successful intern and a fruitful internship experience for all, including the employer?
There are many things that I think make a good intern. It’s important not to be afraid of meeting new people. Yes, it can be awkward at first but they are here to mentor and teach you so you can do your best for them. Being timid and not asking questions to make sure you are successful, harms you and them. Also, make sure to get to know the people you are working with as it makes the experience better for everyone involved. You want to feel comfortable with the people you work with as this can lead you to make amazing, long-lasting connections.
How have you found the Empowerly program?
The Empowerly program is super wonderful. I can be forgetful of things, and the program director at Empowerly has personally reminded me of things I needed to do and has guided me every step of the way.
Raja is the founder and CEO of Spotidol, a platform for creating and entering competitions to win cash and other prizes.
Can you tell me a little about your company?
Spotidol is a technology startup building products enabling people to help each other live their dreams. Spotidol Competitions, the flagship product of Spotidol, is a website and mobile app for creating and entering competitions to win cash and other prizes. One On One Competitions, another Spotidol product, is a mobile app for creating and entering private one-on-one video competitions.
When did you launch and why?
The first iteration of Spotidol was called Fanspot. Fanspot was created as a way for fans to profit with their favorite artists. The ultimate goal, however, was to help everyone live their dreams. At Spotidol, we believe the life of people’s dreams is a simple formula: maximize peak experiences and eliminate bad experiences. Over 40% of people’s peak experiences are competition and achievement related. Digital competitions are also easily scalable. Spotidol Competitions launched June 21, 2019.
What kinds of tasks do the interns do?
Spotidol has hired 10th-12th grade high school students in the areas of marketing, social media, and software development. Our interns have gotten experience doing outreach to new and current partners, building followings and connecting with thousands on various social platforms, and building mobile and web UI components. All have received hands-on experience which has allowed them to grow their skills with the oversight of an expert.
Why did you join Empowerly´s Startup Internship Matching Program?
Young people are far more social and competitive than older people. Naturally, the best people to connect with young people are other young people. Empowerly’s High School Internship Program is a great opportunity to connect with smart, talented, and ambitious young people.
What do you think makes a successful intern and a fruitful internship experience for all, including the employer?
Successful interns are excited about the work that they do, are open to learning and trying new things, and are willing to accept when they’ve done something wrong to learn how to do things better. The most fruitful internships are the ones where the interns are able to quickly grow and become adept at their assignments.
How have you found the Empowerly program and the interns who have worked with you?
The program has been a great help in gaining young associates of Spotidol. The interns have all done good work that has proven to be valuable to our organization and our customers.
Conclusion
If you are interested in an internship but have had little luck finding one, especially during the pandemic period, then consider our services to help you land one! Schedule a free exploratory consultation to discuss your options. Whether you’re seeking just the high school internship program or help with the entire college application process, Empowerly can help.
“I have been really enjoying my internship. It is an incredible learning experience in a real company with real projects. As a high school student it’s difficult to gain the skills required to be a good employee, so this internship has really improved my practical skills: social skills, setting goals/personal deadlines, working with others, etc. I would rate my experience a 5 just because of how much I am able to learn, and because this knowledge will be helpful in my future career.”
— Former intern with Empowerly’s Internship Matching Program
