By Maddie Nerad
Staff Writer
While many students spent their summer forgetting about school and responsibility, five Mira Costa seniors took learning to a whole new level with internships at Boeing.
The aerospace engineering company offered high school students in the Los Angeles area an eight-week summer internships at their office in El Segundo. Costa seniors Jagriti Agrawal, Braden Currey, Anne-Monique Pace, Ian Zaun and Axel Zwissler were chosen based on their applications, teacher recommendations, grades in science and math classes and standardized test scores.
“This internship is a really wonderful experience for students that will hopefully set them up for a job after college,” Advanced Placement chemistry teacher Charlotte Shales-Clark said. “In class we learn the foundation, but outside of class is where the students get to apply the concepts.”
To be eligible for the internship, students need teacher recommendations and an unweighted grade point average of at least 3.5. Course prerequisites were receiving an A in Algebra 3-4/Trig and experience in at least one AP science course.
“Ms. Shales-Clark let our class know about this opportunity, and then we were able to submit our applications,” Currey said. “Last year, Boeing really expanded the program, and it was Costa’s first chance to participate.”
The students usually worked a four-day week from about 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They wound up completing between 125 and 150 hours by the end of the summer. The average day could consist of anything from researching various construction methods to contacting vendors.
“It was great because I was working on something I enjoy,” Zwissler said. “There were no extreme pressures to perform or anything like that.”
Boeing designed the program for students who have a passion for science, math and engineering. The internships were a way for students to explore fields of work and see if they could possibly become a career choice.
“My brother was an engineering major, and I thought this was a good way to see if engineering was something I wanted to go into before committing to it in college,” Currey said.
The interns worked at Boeing’s headquarters for the Satellite Development Center, which is the world’s leading manufacturer of satellites. The satellites Boeing designs and builds are used for mobile phones, tracking weather, global positioning systems and military communications.
“The most interesting part of the internship for me was being able to see where all the satellites were constructed,” Zwissler said.
Each intern was paired with a Senior Executive Mentor who guided them during the full eight weeks. They each had an individual project that involved research and brainstorming ways to improve the company.
“As an intern I had several meetings and met with my mentor in order to further understand this profession. My individual project involved tracking and monitoring satellites,” Currey said. “In the end I gave a report to executives, and they will eventually use the report to find ways to cut costs in future projects.”
According to Boeing’s website, the company has an innovative and diverse workforce that specializes in everything from technology to business. The mentors often get excited by their students’ energy and fresh perspectives.
“My favorite part of the internship was learning about all the different science, technology, engineer, and mathematics careers that I could pursue in college,” Zaun said.
This internship taught them more about the engineering field and exposed them to networking with executives at the company. Over the eight weeks of their internship, the students believe they built strong, valuable relationships with people in the company along with outside partners of Boeing.
“This is a great start for me and my future,” Currey said. “Knowing people at Boeing will make it a lot easier to get a job.”
Mira Costa faculty hopes that other students will have the opportunity to participate in many years to come. Applications for next summer should be available sometime in the spring.
“It is really all about aerospace engineering, so I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in that field of work or anything related to engineering in general,” Zwissler said.
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