STEM Professionals As Resource Knowledge (SPARK)
The purpose of SPARK is to provide an immersive summer internship experience for exceptional students interested in pursuing careers related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) research.
Each student is assigned to job-shadow a local practicing professional, participate in the educational programs offered by his/her scientific/research organization, and work collaboratively with the mentor on a problem or experiment developed by the mentor and the student. This is done for a period of 70-100 hours in person over the summer. Selected students will participate in these internships during the summers prior to their junior or senior years.
In the fall, following their internship experiences, students share what they have learned via poster presentations at an evening research symposium at Stevenson High School (parents, students, and mentors are invited to attend). Some summer internship experiences may include projects that can be modified for submission to state and national scientific competitions.
Informational meetings are held in February and applications are due early March.
