LEAH Summer Internships Application

Thank you for your interest in becoming a LEAH Youth Leader for Summer 2024! LEAH offers two distinct summer internships: The LEAH Knox Internship and The LEAH Daly Internship. Please review the below descriptions to determine which internship feels like the best fit for you.

Position Summary

The following applies to BOTH internships.

LEAH Summer Internships are paid, 5-week programs designed to give high school students early access to and experience with laboratory research.

  • Dates: LEAH Summer Internships run from July 8, 2024 – August 9, 2024.
  • Schedule: It is a commitment of 9:30AM – 4:00PM Monday through Friday for those five weeks.
  • Lab Time: Youth Leaders can expect to spend about 15-20 hours in the lab per week at their respective sites.
  • LEAH Programming: 10-15 hours per week will be spent with both internship cohorts for workshops on college readiness, life skills, and teambuilding.
  • Symposium: The internship will conclude with a symposium where youth will present their findings from the summer.
  • Stipends: Youth can earn up to $2,250 for the summer.

Other benefits of the program include:

  • Option to participate in a STEM Teaching internship during the school year. Youth are trained to lead science activities in after-school programs. STEM Teaching internships are 6-8 hours a week and youth can earn up to $3,000 based on their participation and attendance.
  • Access to college visits, STEM career exploration opportunities, and additional academic support. 
  • A school year mentor who works in STEM . Youth leaders meet with their mentor monthly starting in the Fall of 2024 and ending in the Summer of 2025.
  • All participants who successfully complete the summer program and are engaged with staff during the school year will be eligible to participate in a paid internship opportunity the following summer in a research setting in the Boston area.

Who Can Be A LEAH Youth Leader?

To be eligible for either LEAH Summer Internship, students must be:

  • At least 16 years old by July 8th, 2024
  • A current high school freshman, sophomore, or junior (seniors ineligible) 
  • Interested in science
  • Boston-area residents who live within a 1-hour commute by public transit to Kendall Square, Cambridge and Chinatown, Boston. We serve youth coming from Boston, Everett, Cambridge, Chelsea, Revere, and students from MassBioEd ACCESS schools. If you don’t see your town/city listed, feel free to reach out to inquire about your eligibility.
  • Students of color and students from low-income backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply

*No prior lab or research experience is needed. All that’s required is an interest in scientific research and a willingness to learn and work hard! This program is particularly well-suited for students interested in exploring a career in biology, biotechnology, or life sciences.

What are the Time Commitments?

  • You must be available to interview the week of April 8th. Interviews will be in-person.
  • You must be available to participate in the internship from July 8th– August 9th. The commitment is every day, Monday – Friday from 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM. There are no weekend commitments.
  • You must commit to attending five 2-hour STEM-based events during the 2024-2025 school year. These take place at LEAH’s Chinatown office or at a local science or biotech company.

More about LEAH Daly:

LEAH Daly is a lab internship that emphasizes exposure to a variety of life sciences topics and careers. LEAH Daly takes place in an industry setting rather than a university setting. The lab portion of this internship takes place at the Biogen Community Lab in Kendall Square, a global leader in the biotech space. The lab work is led by instructors from MassBioEd.

As a LEAH Daly intern, you will learn about different life sciences topics including drug development, personal genetics, and food/nutrition. You will learn lab techniques such as micro-pipetting, gel electrophoresis, PCR, and protein purification. Most of your work will be instructor-led. You will also attend weekly field trips to STEM companies to learn about different careers in the life sciences.

LEAH Daly is a good fit for students who prefer a more guided, instructor-led learning experience. You will also see a greater variety of possible life sciences career paths in action through company visits and sharing a coworking space with current life science professionals.

More about LEAH Knox:

LEAH Knox is an integrated data science and biomedical research internship. LEAH Knox takes place in a university setting rather than an industry setting. This program meets in the MIT Biology building and lab work is led by MIT Biology faculty instructors and graduate student Teaching Assistants.

As a LEAH Knox intern, you will work on one major research project for most of the summer. You will collect a water sample from the Charles River and identify a strain of bacteria in that sample. You will learn molecular biology lab techniques to identify the bacteria, work with its DNA, and analyze its growth using data analysis techniques. You will do this lab work collaboratively with a partner and with guidance from instructors, but there is an emphasis on independent learning and lab work.

LEAH Knox is a good fit for students who prefer to work more independently and/or students who have an interest in the intersection of data science and biology.

Application Process

  • This application will take approximately 45 to 60 minutes to complete. It includes four short answer questions (a minimum of 150 words each).
  • All applicants need to be 16 years old or older by Monday July 8th, 2024.
  • A Recommendation form must be completed by a current/former science teacher. You will be asked to provide the name, school email address, job title, and school/organization of the recommender on this application. A recommendation form will then be sent to your recommender to complete by the application deadline.
  • You are required to upload your resume.
  • You will apply to one of the two internships. You can choose to be considered for the other internship if you don’t get into your primary choice.
  • You can save your application progress and continue where you left off.
  • Applications and Recommendation forms are due Sunday, March 31st, 2024 at 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
  • There will be group interviews held in-person in mid-April. Decisions will be sent out by April 19th.