Internships

Please review the internship requirements below to see if you qualify. In order to apply, we must receive your application and a letter of recommendation from a teacher who can speak to your skills and interests in specific areas related to NASA subjects. A teacher recommendation letter is required of all applicants. Full applications are due by March 7, 2022. Our guidelines for high school interns are as follows: Prospective interns must be current high school students 16 years of age or older. Preference will be given to students who are rising juniors or older but rising sophomores are invited to apply. Prospective interns must identify as autistic in order to align with N3’s mission. Prospective interns must have completed algebra, and at least one year of a physical science (e.g. earth science, chemistry or physics).

The application asks students to complete open-response questions. First, applicants will be asked to explain why they would like to have an internship with a NASA scientist and describe any previous experiences they have had with NASA topics. Applicants will also be asked to describe their strengths, interests, and hobbies and to describe settings where they work best and any accommodations they may need to help them be successful N3 interns. Prospective interns can submit their responses using recorded audio, written text, video, or submit written answers transcribed by a scribe. If there are other accommodations that would assist with your internship application process, please contact our N3 team at edeon@sonoma.edu . We hope to learn from our N3 interns to build our understanding about the best ways to work with neurodiverse youth. The application will also ask:

• Age/grade
• Self-identification
• Subjects completed in math/science
• Interest in specific NASA subject areas
• Choice of open-response question (voice, video, written, scribe)
• Access to/experience with technology

We encourage all interested high school students to inquire about internship requirements if they are uncertain if they qualify.

Please review the internship details and list of requirements below to determine if any of your students may be a candidate. In order for an application to be complete, we must receive a teacher recommendation letter which speaks to the student’s skills and interests in specific NASA subject areas. Because this will be a virtual internship, we also ask that the letter describe the student’s ability to accomplish work through remote learning. We encourage recommenders to share each applicant’s strengths and challenges with us so that the best possible internship placement can be achieved.

Our guidelines for high school interns are as follows: Prospective interns must be current high school students 16 years of age or older. Preference will be given to students who are rising juniors or older but rising sophomores are invited to apply. Prospective interns must identify as autistic in order to align with N3’s mission. Prospective interns must have completed algebra, and at least one year of a physical science (e.g. earth science, chemistry or physics). Interns will have the opportunity to complete open-response questions using recorded audio, written text, video, or submit written answers transcribed by a scribe. We encourage all interested high school students to inquire about internship requirements if they are uncertain if they qualify.

To complete your recommendation of a student for an N3 internship, please submit your letter to edeon@sonoma.edu . Letters should answer the following questions:

• What do you think this applicant would gain from an internship with a NASA SME?
• What subjects/topic areas is the applicant interested in?
• Describe any activities or courses the applicant is involved in that demonstrate interest in these subjects/topics.
• Are there any accommodations or virtual workplace strategies that you implement to best support this student?

Please share with us. This includes recommendations on meeting frequency, communication styles and preferences, executive functioning challenges and/or particular strengths in self-management. We want to support all N3 interns as completely as possible!If there are other accommodations that would assist with the internship application process or employment experience, please contact our N3 team. We hope to learn from our N3 interns to build our understanding of best practices for working with neurodiverse youth.

Please read this material carefully if you have a question about your eligibility for the N3 Internship Program. If your question is not answered here, you may contact our staff at edeon@sonoma.edu.

Q: Can a high school student apply if they are currently a freshman in high school?
A: We welcome applications from high school freshmen if they are at least 16 years old and have completed algebra and at least one year of a physical science (e.g. earth science, chemistry or physics).

Q: Is the internship only for autistic students? Does the student require an official diagnosis?
A: N3’s focus is on students who identify as autistic but you do not need an official diagnosis in order to apply. The requirement is that you identify as autistic.

Q: Is completion of algebra and physics science required for applicant /internship requirements?
A: Applicants must have completed algebra and at least one year of any physical science. This includes subjects such as earth science, chemistry or physics.

Q: Are students who are 18+ and high school graduates, but are currently taking time off from being fully enrolled in college, still eligible to apply?
A: As they are not yet in college and are older than 16, we encourage them to apply to our internship program. The only additional requirement is that the student has completed algebra and at least one year of a physical science course at the high school level.

Q: Is 16 years old the minimum age for the internship?
A: Yes, the minimum age for an intern to participate in our program is 16 years old. Prospective interns must turn 16 by June 1, 2022. If your student is not eligible this year, we will be hosting this program next year and applications will be advertised on our website at n3.sonoma.edu.
Q: Is this opportunity open to students in countries outside of the United States?
A: Only students located in the United States of America are eligible to apply.

Q: Does the required recommendation letter need to be from a school teacher or can it be from staff in an out-of-school time program?
A: Recommendation letters from staff at an out-of-school-time program are acceptable in lieu of a letter from a classroom teacher. This staff member should know the student well and be able to answer the questions listed in our teacher recommendation instructions. Please see the guidelines for these letters in “Information for Teachers” section of the webpage at https://n3.sonoma.edu/resources