STEM Internships

By Hayley Hunt

Front Range Community College is participating in multiple science, technology, engineering, and math, known as STEM, internships this year. Max Miller, a faculty member at FRCC Westminster says that they are “trying to get students connected with internships in different STEM fields,” and to give them an opportunity to get experience in their future field. There are multiple internships in earth and environmental science, biology, energy, computer science, math, and engineering. Many of the internships have an application date that starts in November and goes through January 2020.  

Caitlin Caccavari, a STEM grants coordinator for Front Range, works for a couple different grants and internship opportunities. One that she works with is through Geo Launch Pad, a pre-research experience for undergraduate students from New Mexico and Colorado. The applications opened Nov. 14 and go till Feb. 1, 2020. 

It is a paid internship, and housing is provided for those who are coming from out of state or who live far away. At some point during the middle of the internship, students will get the opportunity to go to a professional conference and get experience talking with those who are already in that field. 

Another internship that Caccavari works with is the Bridges to Baccalaureate internship, which is going through Colorado State University. 

“Front Range students get to apply, and the students who get accepted will get fought over by different labs on CSU’s campus,” said Caccavari.

 This opportunity is for local students only, and is a research internship for undergraduates. 

Caccavari stated that the best thing about STEM is “the discovery, having a question and being able to find out if it’s true or not.” For students who are afraid to apply due to it not being in their exact field, everyone does everything in science, and so anyone can get something out of these internships. It is a great opportunity to put the experience on a resume, and will increase the chance of getting a job or another internship during or after college. The people that students get introduced to during internships will also help them further down the line, be it for job connections or even being invited back.

If students are unsure which field of internships they should apply to, talk to the teachers in STEM, including math, science. The teachers will have a good idea based off of the classes each individual student is taking, to help them decide which internship to go with. Even if students are still unsure, as Caccavari said, everyone will learn a bit of everything in the science and math fields. Students can only learn more by being involved in an internship, even if it is not in their area field.  If you are interested in participating in any of the STEM internships, talk to your science and math teachers, or check Front Range’s website.