Best humanities internships for high school students

One of the most rewarding and exciting things to do as high school student is a summer internship. We've collected some of the coolest, humanities-focused internships from all over the internet and shared them here – keep reading to learn about some of these opportunities for high school students!

Kaiser Permanente LAUNCH Program

Kaiser Permanente is a well-known healthcare provider. With massive influence, especially in the Bay Area, a career at KP can set students up for long-term success in healthcare. Lucky for you, they offer high school roles! From their website:

The goal of the Kaiser Permanente LAUNCH Program is to introduce underrepresented and low-income high school and undergraduate interns to careers in health professions. LAUNCH provides opportunities for interns to develop and foster professional and community leadership skills in a supportive environment.

The program is structured to help interns to obtain practical job skills and experiences that will help them to successfully pursue employment in the health professions, while encouraging interns that experience socioeconomic challenges as barriers to career success to pursue higher education and career development.

We'd recommend applying to LAUNCH if you're interested in healthcare—either as a provider, or in a supporting role!

Library of Congress Internships

Ever wondered what it was like to work in the de facto national library of the U.S.? Look no further—the Library of Congress actually has open roles for high schoolers! They hire students across dozens of functions, giving them the chance to work in a real, functional research library.

Internship and Fellowship Programs (IFP) coordinates a portfolio of over 80 programs throughout the Library of Congress. Search this page to find volunteer opportunities and a wide range of applied learning and career development placements that advance the academic and professional pursuits of secondary school students, and emerging or established scholars from the higher education community.

These programs also engage inspired learners who are interested in working alongside Library of Congress employees to further the mission of the nation's oldest cultural agency and provide Congress and the American people with a rich, diverse, and enduring source of knowledge for the posterity of all. Your career can find a launching pad in the world’s largest library.

If you're considering studying a discipline close to information science, then work at the LOC might be the role for you! As an added bonus, it's also based in D.C.!

Johns Hopkins Career, Academic, and Research Experiences for Students (CARES) Network and Symposium

Commonly known as a leading medical research institute, Johns Hopkins University offers several pre-baccalaureate programs for students still in high school! One of these programs is CARES, or a research-focused summer session where students are able to gain an insight into what academia looks like at the next level of schooling.

Johns Hopkins Career, Academic, and Research Experiences for Students (CARES) Summer Symposium brings together graduate, undergraduate, and high school students who have participated in one of the Johns Hopkins CARES summer programs. Its mission is to inspire and provide opportunities to underrepresented students and improve the odds of success among aspiring leaders to pursue careers in science, public health, or medicine.

The CARES program seeks to bolster high school students' academic and social confidence by enabling them to share their summer research presentations and network with high achieving undergraduates from all over the United States. In doing so, JHU and CARES is able to inspire a generation of future leaders by providing an opportunity for students and keynote speakers to share their journey, struggles, and lessons learned in achieving their dreams.

If you're a student potentially interested in a career involving research or academia, we recommend that you check out CARES—the combination of experienced faculty and like-minded students provides value that simply cannot be understated.

Smithsonian Youth Programs

According to their website, The Smithsonian offers "fun and challenging experiences for kids across all ages interested in science, nature, technology, art , design, history, culture, or all of the above."

These programs are incredibly helpful to students who may still be looking for a narrow career interest. In fact, according to the Smithsonian, the program is structured to instill confidence and skills of self-expression, communication, leadership, and provide college and career preparation, in extraordinary museum environments.

Take the Explainer program for example:

Explainers at the National Air and Space Museum inspire life-long learners by connecting them to our iconic artifacts and to stories about the science and technology that make innovation possible. The Explainers Program hires high school and college students to help visitors better understand the Museum’s artifacts and exhibitions through hands-on programming. Explainers work at either the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC or at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

YC Work at a Startup

YCombinator is the startup accelerator that backs some of the most recognizable startups today—think AirBnB, Stripe, Coinbase, Instacart, and Simplify :)

YC often backs companies at their earliest stages—so early that many are hiring their first interns or employees ever! You can discover these companies on YC's Work at a Startup page. Many roles you'll find here will be open to everyone, including high school students! It's important to note, however, that these roles are not watered-down versions of work you may find elsewhere. The roles that YC companies hire for push interns into the fire doing real, meaningful work!

Next Steps

Landing an internship in high school is undoubtedly harder than most other jobs, and it might be demoralizing to hear "no." However, there's ways you can get ahead of this! Building out a strong track record of personal projects, resume's and cover letters can greatly increase your chances of landing your dream role!