11 Internships in Hawaii for High School Students
If you’re a high school student, consider applying for an internship! An internship can offer hands-on experience and valuable insights into potential career paths, helping you build a strong resume and develop essential skills before even stepping onto a college campus.
In this article, we’ll discuss 11 internships in Hawaii for high school students!
Location: Virtual
Cost: Starting at $2490 | Financial assistance is available
Eligibility: Open to high school students who can work for 10-20 hours/week.
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year.
Internship Dates: This is an 8-week program with multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring.
Ladder Internships is a virtual program that gives students the chance to work with startups and nonprofits across the globe – the United States, Asia, Europe, and the UK. This program’s curriculum caters to high school students, ensuring a balance between academic enrichment and practical skill development.
Ladder internships provide a structured pathway for high school students to engage in real-world research and innovation. As a participant, you can choose from fields like environmental science and sustainability, machine learning and AI, business and marketing, healthcare, media, and more. As an intern, you will work on a real-world project that is of genuine need to the organization you’re working with and present your work at the end of your internship. Additionally, you’ll be offered one-on-one training, meaning you’ll get to work closely with your manager at the startup and with a Ladder Coach, who will serve as a second mentor, helping you navigate the startup environment.
2. The Hawai’i Wildlife Fund’s Internship Program
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Stipend: There’s no mention of whether this is a paid program or not.
Eligibility: Open to high school students from across the globe.
Application Deadline: Fill out their contact form!
Internship Dates: Year-round opportunities are available and can range from one week to a little over one month.
The Hawai’i Wildlife Fund’s Internship Program is perfect for high school students living either on Maui or the Big Island. On Maui, the program offers four Native Wildlife Recovery internships, five Habitat Restoration internships, and one Multimedia internship at the Hawai‘i Wildlife Discovery Center. On the Big Island, there are six Habitat Restoration internships and five in-the-classroom educational internships that teach others more about conservation and the environment.
Your internship can extend from just a week to more than a month, depending on your needs and wants as an intern. You will also get to make a positive impact on the natural world around you by contributing to the organization’s conservation or research efforts and more – all while gaining academic credit and volunteer hours. This internship would be a smart choice for students thinking of pursuing an undergraduate degree in the biological sciences or even those hoping to one day join the world of academia and educate the next generation of wildlife biologists and conservationists.
3. Hawai’i Space Flight Laboratory’s Junior Engineers Summer STEM Experience (JESSE)
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Cost: $400 (fee waivers available)
Eligibility: Open to high school juniors going into their senior year.
Application Deadline: Applications open on November 1, and tentatively close sometime in March.
Internship Dates: This is a summer program that runs from June to July (tentatively).
This internship will cover both classroom topics and beyond, such as circuits, soldering, programming, computer-aided design, machining safety and skills, and other aspects of aerospace engineering. As an intern, you will work with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, College of Engineering alumni with master's degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering, as well as other staff and experts in the field. You will be assigned a faculty mentor and/or graduate student who will help support you through your various research tasks based on your engineering interest within the designated laboratory.
The College of Engineering’s JESSE Internship Program invites qualified and motivated high school juniors (current juniors going into their senior year) to explore this unique opportunity to experience a higher level of academics at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa. You will engage in your own hands-on engineering projects and assist college undergraduates, researchers, and professors with their research in state-of-the-art facilities.
4. The Hawai’i Pacific Health Career Summer Internship
Location: Oahu & Kauai | See the various centers here.
Stipend: This is a paid internship.
Eligibility: Open to high school juniors and seniors.
Application Deadline: Be sure to check here for updates on the application deadline.
Internship Dates: This is a summer program that runs from June to July (tentatively).
The Hawai’i Pacific Health Career Summer Internship is a 6-week-long paid internship program designed to provide high school juniors and seniors with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in the healthcare industry and hospital systems, as well as interact with experienced healthcare professionals and explore a variety of different health care professions.
This internship offers flexibility in work hours and work location. It would be a great stepping stone for high school students interested in the diverse healthcare industry. There are many different career pathway options within the field, such as nursing, imaging, rehabilitation services, information technology, and much more.
5. The Maui County Agriculture Business & Technology Internship
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Stipend: $2,100 upon successful completion
Eligibility: Participating STEMworks high school students (grades 9-12) are given preference; high school students not a part of Maui County’s STEMworks program may still apply but are not guaranteed placement with an internship.
Application Deadline: Keep an eye on the website for updates on the next session.
Internship Dates: Sessions are held every fall, spring, and summer for durations of 5 to 10 weeks.
Through Maui County’s STEMworks Agriculture Business & Technology Internship program, high school students can gain business experience in multiple industries within the Agricultural sector. You will be able to pursue your interests, build a resume, and become career-ready over the course of 5 to 10 weeks.
You will also be assigned multiple meaningful projects in which you will learn how to use industry-standard technologies. Each week, you are required to commit 10-15 hours, during which you will gain important real-world experience of what the STEM and agricultural world look like. This program gives you the chance to also receive high school credit, and potentially attain a job following graduation.
6. Maui Ocean Center’s Marine Naturalist Internships
Location: Maui Ocean Center, Maui, Hawaii
Stipend: This is not a paid internship.
Eligibility: Must be at least 16 years of age and enrolled in a high school or college. See here for more details on intern requirements.
Application Deadline: November
Internship Dates: Maui Ocean Center offers 6 academic internship positions annually, and the internships may begin at any point in the year.
Maui Ocean Center, the Aquarium of Hawai‘i, is a regional aquarium located in central Maui that showcases many different marine animals that can only be found throughout the Hawaiian Islands. This aquarium would be a great learning environment for any student interested in marine stewardship and marine biology. As an intern, you will be mentored by professionals and experts in the field of marine sciences who will work to help you gain an interdisciplinary understanding of the aquarium industry. With an emphasis on Maui Ocean Center’s mission “to inspire wonder, understanding, and respect for Hawai‘i’s marine life,” you will educate, inform, and learn how to respect and protect the beautiful natural environment of Hawai’i. You also must be able to dedicate 7-8 hours a day for a consecutive 5 weekdays.
At the end of your internship, you will be required to complete a final project and present it to the staff and/or the guests on a marine topic of your choice.
7. Smithsonian Science Education Center Internships
Location: Virtual opportunities available
Stipend: The stipend varies based on the program you apply to.
Eligibility: Open to high school students who are at least 16 years of age. Please note that some internships might require a federal background check.
Application Deadline: Check the website in March (tentatively) for updates.
Internship Dates: 10 weeks between May and August, with a flexible and virtual schedule.
The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) has developed an innovative new STEM curriculum and digital resources to transform its K-12 education and is looking for dedicated and intrinsically motivated virtual interns. The SSEC also conducts professional development for STEM teachers, and strives to inspire STEM education leadership among both school and community leaders, and offers an array of roles for potential high school interns.
The SSEC offers internship positions in communications, marketing, and public relations to high school students around the world, with the goal of inspiring both its interns and students to love the pursuit of knowledge. As an intern, you may be assigned a role in developing social media communications materials, including content creation, graphics, videos, and campaign brainstorming. You may also find yourself assisting in communication dissemination, strategy, and asset management, though duties, schedules, and requirements vary by position.
8. Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) Internship
Location: Virtual internships available
Stipend: This is a paid internship opportunity.
Eligibility: All high students, including international students, are eligible. The program does require you to have the authorization to work in the U.S.
Application Deadline: Rolling | Applications close on Nov 1.
Internship Dates: This program has sessions in the fall, spring, and summer. The spring session is from Feb to May.
If you are interested in pursuing a more social science-based major, such as government, political science, pre-law, or foreign policy, this internship would be a great choice for you. The Foreign Policy Research Institute, or FPRI, hosts this internship to provide valuable field experience for high school students who are interested in world relations and politics. Additionally, you will have the chance to attend weekly seminars on foreign policy and career development.
Divided into three main categories, this internship offers roles in Research, Special Events/Development, and Operations, allowing you to choose your preferred focus. During your time in your role, you will also work under a foreign policy professional who will guide you in the ways of the industry. You will also be given a chance to write a research paper that will potentially be published in FPRI’s “Intern Corner.”
9. Pacific Music Institute Jazz Intensive
Location: McKinley High School, Honolulu, Hawaii
Cost: $260
Eligibility: Students entering 8th grade up until 1st-year college must have at least two years of experience with their respective instruments. Read here for more details.
Application Deadline: May (tentatively)
Internship Dates: Around 10 days in July (tentatively)
The Jazz Intensive program is a weeklong summer program hosted out of the oldest public high school in Hawaii – McKinley High School in Honolulu. It will provide you with instruction in everything from jazz theory to improvisation to playing in an ensemble. To participate in the program, it is a requirement to be able to play one or more of the following instruments: the saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, guitar, bass guitar, or drums.
During this program, you and your peers will receive daily instruction in jazz theory, improvisation, ensemble playing, and performance techniques. The Jazz Intensive is led by the director of HYS Jazz, Dean Taba, and Seattle-based saxophonist Steve Treseler. Other faculty include notable session musicians and local legends who will provide guidance and mentorship throughout the program. No formal jazz experience is required; you will be placed in either Jazz 1 (Intermediate/Advanced) or Jazz 2 (Beginning) based on your level of experience and instrumentation needs.
Location: Virtual
Stipend: This is an unpaid internship.
Eligibility: Open to high school students who have taken at least one honors science or honors English class and have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
Application Deadline: Applications are open year-round. Apply here.
Internship Dates:
- Half-Time Virtual Internships: 2 to 8 weeks, 20 hours/week; available during summer
- Quarter-Time Virtual Internships: 1 to 9 months, 8 hours/week; available all year round
EnergyMag (a non-profit organization) offers this virtual research internship to students who want to gain experience working in the renewable energy sector. As an intern, you will gain both research and analytical skills, as well as hands-on work experience by researching specific companies, technologies, and markets.
During the EnergyMag internship, you will acquire and perfect your research and analysis skills in both the science and business domains. These skills will be extremely useful in any future professional career and impressive on your resume.
11. Seaside Sustainability Internship
Location: Virtual
Stipend: This is an unpaid internship.
Eligibility: Open to all high school students who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents with an interest in STEM.
Application Deadline: Applications are open all year round. You can apply here.
Internship Dates: 5-month terms
Seaside Sustainability is a nationally recognized, award-winning charitable organization that places an emphasis on community engagement, public education, and environmental conservation. For the Seaside Sustainability Internship, there are project management tools and SOPs in place to encourage interns to team up and work on projects together. You will also have the chance to explore a variety of roles and responsibilities based on your interests. In fact, interns can be anything from a team member to a project manager or management fellow.
While you will not be paid for your time, extraordinary interns who rise above and beyond what is expected of them are awarded Volunteer service awards! Seaside Sustainability does, however, require its interns to work at least 15 hours per week, and, as of now, only students who can enter a five-month term are encouraged to apply.