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Be a Mentor

Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering (ASE)

Help us to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers!

Steps to Mentorship

  • Step 1: Develop & submit a project description
  • Step 2: Review & rank candidates
  • Step 3: Confirm intern(s) & summer calendar
  • Step 4: Attend Mentor Orientation
  • Step 5: Mentor student during internship
Select from the following:

Identify a project that a student can complete in eight weeks during the summer. This activity could be part of a larger effort within your group or organization, or a single, discrete project. Internships should provide opportunities for students to develop new skills and build on their learning, but should also contribute to the host site and mentor’s objectives. 

Sign Up to Be a Mentor

We recognize the value of your time, so we do all we can to make sure that you’re able to focus on projects, not paperwork. Creating a successful internship relies on strong communication with your team and clear goals for what your intern(s)  will accomplish and learn. Thoughtfully completing these steps will prepare you for a successful and productive eight-weeks and will make your mentor groups impact on the intern even stronger.

Browse Current Internships

After the application deadline closes, ASE will forward candidate packets  for you to review and rank. These packets include cover letters, recommendations and transcripts. You can also interview candidates in person, request work samples or speak to references.

Once ASE receives your rankings, ASE staff matches and confirms student apprentices. The ASE staff matches students based on mentor preferences (i.e. rankings) and student selections and interest level.  Once you are notified of your students this is time to finalize start/end dates for the internship.

ASE hosts evening Orientation sessions in Portland, Corvallis and online.  This is an opportunity to review the logistics and expectations for the internship, learn from experienced ASE mentors and meet the staff who will support your internship during the summer.

ASE students complete 8 week-internships.  The start and end dates of the internship are negotiated with mentor and student prior to Orientation.

FAQ

  • What do ASE interns do?
  • What's the difference between an internship & a job?
  • Who matches applicants with mentors?
  • I don’t know if I want to work with high schoolers- aren’t they awfully young?
  • What does an internship cost mentor organizations?
  • Why do mentors pay a fee?
  • What if my organization can't afford the fee?
  • Does a mentor’s company have to provide insurance and safety equipment?
  • How can I learn more about becoming a mentor?
Select from the following:

ASE interns can focus on a single project or responsibility over the whole summer, or may work on a series of related programs within the same organization or work group. Each position provides interns with an opportunity to contribute to a mentor’s project, gain experience in a STEM-related profession, and present the summer’s learning at the August Symposium.  Beyond those requirements, ASE interns take on an enormous breadth of roles, including freshwater mussel surveys, programming applications for Android, and research and development for rooftop car-racks.

Browse Examples of Past Internships

There are many differences between an internship and a job, as outlined here by the U.S. Department of Labor.  One of the most important, and a driving value behind our programs, is that interns should both contribute to and learn from the work of their mentor. Some roles that might seem monotonous or unsuited to a grad student or staff person can become a great opportunity for a student to build an ‘entry level’ skill in a professional, scientific environment, provided that those responsibilities are balanced with resources to understand the deeper processes and applications at play.

One thing that makes ASE unique among internship programs is that both applicants and mentors can rank each other, creating a matching process that’s unique to each internship. After submitting a position description, mentors let ASE staff know what knowledge, skills, and abilities they’re looking for in interns; ASE students can then apply to specific positions. After a basic screening process, ASE then forwards all applicants to mentor teams. Mentors may interview or request work samples from students prior to ranking candidates for their positions. The final matching process aims to match mentors’ most highly-ranked students with those students’ most highly-ranked positions.

ASE applicants are young, but given the competitive nature of the program- with about a 1 in 5 chance of an applicant getting an internship, and mentors’ ability to design their own positions and identify top candidates – we are very confident that the positions will be successful. Applicants have typically gone ‘above and beyond’ a typical high school curriculum to learn programming or technical skills on their own, and bring that approach to the internships.

As a non-profit organization, Saturday Academy relies on grants and contributions in order to operate.  ASE asks mentors to contribute $3,500 per intern to offset program costs and to provide a stipend for their student intern. Program fees are distributed as follows:

Expense

%

Mentor Recruitment

12%

Student recruiting/applicant processing & placement

11%

Intern education (cover letter writing, interview skills)

4%

Intern & mentor orientation and support, intern liability insurance

14%

“On call” staff/teacher monitors

8%

Student conferences (facilities, food, transportation)

13%

Program administration

10%

Stipend

29%

 

The fee allows ASE to work with students and schools throughout Oregon, and to handle the recruitment and application process, human resource and hiring costs, and insurance for all students. If the fee creates a barrier to your participating, please let us know; we can help identify possible internal and external revenue sources.

Most ASE Mentors- about 60%- fund internships with support from their own organizations.  However, some research institutions, small start-ups or nonprofits, are challenged to provide the full $3,500 fee.

ASE is happy to provide letters of collaboration or support for grant proposals and supplemental requests. If you would like us to provide a letter, please send us the name of the funding organization, your grant title, a brief description of your grant proposal, the number of interns for which you are requesting funding and the funding level (total dollar amount). It is helpful to request the letter at least two weeks in advance of the grant deadline.

Some of the links below may be helpful:

Industry-specific Resources

American Chemical Society SEED Program

National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation Homepage
NSF Merit Review Broader Impacts Criterion
Research Assistantships for High School Students (RAHSS) Program for Businesses
RAHSS Information for Biology-Related Grants (can be used by Universities)
NSF Instructions for REU/RET/RAHSS Supplemental Funding – includes information on which line to enter participant support costs (i.e., intern expenses)

National Institutes of Health

Guide to National Institutes of Health Grants
NIH Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research

While ASE provides liability insurance, all ASE mentors are required to provide a safe working environment for their students.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have a position description in mind, please contact Libby Van Vleet, ASE Program Director (503.200.5860).

Sign Up to be a Mentor

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Portland OR 97203

503-200-5858

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Saturday Academy is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and contributions are fully tax-deductible. Our Federal Tax ID# is 20-3770321. ©2016 Saturday Academy

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