Internships give students an opportunity to dive into the career industry of their choice, gaining experience and skills. It "is a learning experience for the worker and a teaching experience for the employer," Career Vocational Experience and Marketing teacher Norman Nager said.
    Some internships offer stipends, but a no-pay internship can impress college admissions officers, according to Nager. "They see your interests and that you are willing to do something because you want to, and not because you have to," he explained.

Getting an Internship
    Many companies offer internships in all shapes and sizes to high school and college students.
      Most people have the misconception that internships are only available when there is an opening at a company or an organization, but internships are available to all who are willing to search for and commit to them.
    "You can make your own proposal for an internship," Nager said. "If you're really interested in a particular industry and would like to know more about it, you can take the initiative and write letters to companies of your choice, proposing an internship with them."
Nager suggested that students writing proposals include three simple points. First, explain who you are and your purpose in seeking the internship. Second, explain what you have to offer: How will the company or individual benefit from your involvement? Third, explain what you want to accomplish and discuss your goals.

The Internship Experience
    Students who have submerged themselves into career exploration through a variety of internships have positive experiences to report.
    Senior Eve Denton began an internship at City Hall in the Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development in January 2008.
    "As an intern at City Hall, I get to answer phones, help people who come into the office, file folders, enter data, make copies, basically all sorts of general office work," Denton said. "It's more fun because I'm working on projects which affect the city and I never know when I'll turn a corner and find the mayor on the other side!"
    After working on the Newsom re-election campaign, Denton heard about her current internship at City Hall through her previous bosses and friends.
    Another student involved in city issues is Junior Nelson Zhao. Zhao found an internship through the San Francisco Youth Works program. "I intern at City Hall in the tax department," Zhao said. "When I started this internship I didn't think that I'd like the field so much, but it's actually quite interesting."
    Zhao interns every day after school for two hours, where he, like Denton, does clerical work. But that’s not all. He chose the position, he said, “because it gave me the opportunity work with people and I really like the interaction. It's not just filing or working on the computer."
    Not all internships are desk jobs.
    Senior Kevin Xu interned at the UC- San Francisco medical center. “Every day we went into a lab and took samples of tumors of various cancers,” Xu said. “The samples of tissue were previously deep-freezed and we would take them and crush them into a powder. We then poured the powder into another tube and either extracted RNA or DNA from the samples.”
    City College freshman and former Lowell student Maahum Chaudhry found an internship at Youth Outlook (YO!) Magazine that involves both desk and in-the-field work.
     “I go once a week to the office and write a blog on whatever I feel like writing –something personal or something that caught my interest in the news,” Chaudhry said. “Sometimes people from the office will call me saying they need someone for their TV show, so if the timing works out for the both of us, I'll meet them wherever they're shooting.”
While this work may sound stressful, Chaudhry says that her internship is “actually pretty chill.”
    San Francisco Waldorf High School junior Zoe Wright found and internship that enabled her to explore the art world.
     “Over my spring break I interned with an artist in Oakland for a week,” Wright said. “I helped her set up her studio, which she used to live in, into a gallery. I hung up photos and TVs that will display a video installation, and sold pieces. And on the last day I helped her with a photo shoot.”
    Wright said she enjoyed her internship because it allowed her to “become more independent,” all while exploring an industry that she is considering for her future.