Highland View Academy Students Benefit from STEM Internships

Story by Kayla Miller

This year three other seniors and I completed STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) internships, one of the requirements for earning STEM certificates with our diplomas at Highland View Academy (HVA).

HVA provides students the opportunity to participate in STEM-related internships through which we gain hands-on experience with 80-100 hours of intensive learning programs where we work with professionals and academic scholars in their respective fields. Students have the opportunity to work in a variety of fields and environments, including biomedicine, physical and occupational therapy, dentistry, and even at the USDA Department of Entomology at the University of Delaware, Newark, Del. Besides expanding our understanding of various STEM fields, our internships also give us the chance to witness to individuals in the public sector.

Alissa Tanguay (’16) shares, “My internship gave me the opportunity to introduce and clarify the beliefs of Seventh-day Adventism in a kind way to people who were confused as to what we actually believed.”

Ophelia Barizo, vice principal for STEM, adds, “STEM internships allow students to rub shoulders and network with STEM professionals, and allow these professionals to mentor our students, which is vitally important as students decide on the career paths that they may take. It also allows our students to do new and novel research in the STEM fields, and gives them an edge in the job market, where a majority of the future jobs will be in STEM or STEM-related.”

Being able to work with educated, experienced scientists and scholars was eye-opening and allowed us to gain knowledge in fields we otherwise might have known little about. We’re grateful to have such an amazing opportunity at HVA.

Feature photo: Highland View Academy seniors Matthew Rada, Alissa Tanguay, Kayla Miller and Matias Olivares will complete STEM internships this year.