Lea Tan, Intern at Summer Bridge SF:
For eight weeks, senior Lea Tan worked at Summerbridge, a subprogram of the Breakthrough Collaborative, which provides under-served middle schoolers academic enrichment opportunities. In accordance with the program’s “students teaching students” philosophy, Tan taught seventh and eighth grade remedial math. “For us, we try to teach in ‘say, see, do’ cycles. You describe how to do something, you show them how to do something, and you have them practice.”
Summerbridge balanced work and fun. “We try to make it more fun with skits, cheers, and department days. For instance, we hosted Casino night, where we taught them about loans and probability.”
Aside from academics, Tan taught a paper-cutting elective and a “co-curricular.” “For my co-curricular, I taught ‘Restorative Justice,’ which was a community circles class. We would talk about topics like family, friends, or bullying.”
Tan would continue to work after her 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift, as she made preparations and lesson plans. “I definitely have more respect for teachers now. You don’t realize how much work they put in.”
Tan’s work impacted student performance and confidence. “The seventh grade speaker talked about me in her speech. She said that I helped her a lot in math, which was her worst subject, and she understands it a lot more now.”
The experience provided Tan insight into the challenges within the education system. “I learned about the achievement gap and the difference between schools. I’ve never had to deal with any of the problems that these students face. I really respect them for dealing with the problems while still having such a great mindset. They never fail to put a smile on your face.”
Louis Villa, Intern at Carbon 3D:
Over the course of 10 weeks, senior Louis Villa worked at Carbon 3D, a startup company located in Redwood City that specializes in Continuous Liquid Interface Printing (CLIP).
According to Carbon 3D, CLIP is a process that increases the speed and quality of printing by utilizing a “grow” process instead of the standard printing method, which prints layer by layer. Such technology could potentially lead to the transformation of the 3D printing industry into 3D manufacturing.
Villa’s work focused on the application of CLIP technology. “I would take a 3D scan of an arm and turn it into a cast, so that was pretty interesting. The company wanted to print things that were really complicated to test how the printers were working. Things that are the size of an arm are pretty complicated, so I was making the files, and they would print them,” says Villa.
Villa also worked at Carbond 3D last summer. “I had mechanical engineering experience because I did a lot of assembling parts and fixing problems and retrofitting printers. I like doing design, but I probably want to do aerospace rather than just general mechanical engineering.”
Villa plans to continue working at Carbon 3D through the school year. “I loved working somewhere where everyone was super interested in their work and what everyone else was working on. It was a very positive environment which is a lot different than school or other offices I’ve been in.”
“Waking up every morning and knowing that you get to spend the day doing something interesting and meaningful to me was super rewarding.”
Henry Kazan, Intern at Decathlon:
At Decathlon Camp located in Woodside, junior Henry Kazan taught sports such as basketball, soccer, and swimming to campers ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade.
“I actually went to this camp when I was a kid, and I interned for a couple years so I could work afterwards too. It was something I wanted to keep doing.”
Kazan, who plays basketball and baseball at Aragon, led group activities as well field trips. “It can be kind of chaotic at times. [The campers] can be rowdy and hard to control, but most of the times, it’s great. The kids I had were really energetic, funny, and respectful, so I usually didn’t have to worry about them being out of control. I just tried to have as much fun with them as possible and do my job to make sure that they had a great time and experience.”
Kazan also enjoyed working with his coworkers. “Actually, I’m pretty good friends with some of the counselors. We’ve been going to this camp since we were kids, so it’s great to see them every summer. I always look forward to it, and getting paid is just a bonus.”
Through the program, Kazan acquired new skills. “I learned some responsibility. I mean, you have to be on your toes when you got so many kids. You have to make sure no one gets hurt, and you try to deal with everything. I think learning to deal with kids is a really big skill.”
Despite the time and work involved, Kazan’s enthusiasm for the program remains strong. “It’s not even really work — it’s fun to work and enjoyable.”
