Mentors
Why become a mentor?
Our interns can bring benefit to your organization through the projects they undertake.
Our academic interns in the past have benefited greatly from the mentorship they have received and the projects they have completed. When situated in an adult workplace environment, students have a chance to reflect on the role of work in their life and in society. Students who complete academic internships are more likely to attend and complete college. Over half of our students will be the first generation in their families to graduate from college.
What is expected of a mentor?
to hold a Bachelor’s Degree or higher (or equivalent professional degree) and share your educational and professional journey with your intern
to provide opportunities for your intern to understand the complexities of your job and complete a project
to share your daily routines with your intern and ensure your intern is actively engaged during the work day
to be available during the course of the internship
to not be related to the intern
to have a physical office location (not work from home, or solely on the road)
to support the intern in their entrepreneurial venture by providing advice and feedback during scheduled meetings (if applicable)
Taking on an Intern
The decision to take on a High Tech High intern is a great way to both educate the future workforce and get some help from intelligent and dedicated individuals. Overall, your job as a mentor is to provide an educational and professional environment.
1) Review the HTH Internship/Endersession Handbook
2) Confirm internship details with your new intern in writing via email with the following information:
Name of the host organization
Mentor email address
Mentor phone number
Internship site address
3) As part of our program, we are expected to conduct a 30 minute site visit before the internship begins in order to prepare for the immersion. The purpose of the site visit is to:
Help the student learn how best to get from my home to the internship
Give the student an opportunity to get to know the organization a bit better
Introduce the student to others at the organization
Begin to think about or further develop project ideas
Please let me know if you have questions or feel free to contact Sharon at smayer@hightechhigh.org