Gifted and Talented Intern Program

As an owner of my own company, I thought I would change lives by being a mentor… Instead, the students have changed mine. The students I mentor will change the world, and I am humbled to be a part of such an amazing and life changing program.

Below are just some of the many ways that students – with the support of professional mentors – apply, create, and evaluate specialized knowledge to contribute to the larger community through the Gifted and Talented (G/T) Intern/Mentor program.

• Designing, producing, and marketing a specialized line of clothing.
• Researching the psychology of juvenile offenders.
• Creating a program to track and identify ballistic missile flight paths.
• Designing an architecturally efficient school building.

Students design an original research study or creative production in a self-selected area of interest, applying knowledge and skills learned in the classroom in a professional environment at the mentor site. The program culminates in the presentation of the research or creative production to an authentic audience.

Eligibility

• College-bound students in Grades 11-12.

Mentor Role

• Provide professional guidance to students in the particular field of study.
• Provide a professional environment in which students work on site.
• Assist student in identifying an authentic research problem and in locating resources.
• Evaluate the intern’s ongoing research and professional growth at the end of each marking period.
• Evaluate the final research or creative production.
• Additional roles and responsibilities.

Logistics

• 5-10 hours per week at job site.
• Student provides transportation.

Benefits To Mentor/Organization

• Gain personal satisfaction through working with highly motivated students.
• Identify and nurture college-bound students and potential employees.

Also Available

• The G/T Independent Research program seeks professionals to consult with students on research or creative productions (1-5 hours per month online or at school).

Contact

• Gifted and Talented Coordinator, Debbie Blum – 410-313-6670
• Learn more about the Gifted and Talented program

The intern becomes a colleague when he/she walks through the door, and as much as I am there to teach them the little secrets of engineering, I am also there to treat them like a fellow employee and give them the resources they need to seek out solutions on their own.

As a mentor, I experienced great pride in seeing our intern grow into a confident, active, and contributing member of our multidisciplinary team; assuming total responsibility for several key aspects of our program and conducting a quality improvement study that taught us ways to enhance the services we provide to medically fragile infants and their families. The time and energy we put into our intern was returned to us ten-fold.