UChicago students are spending their summers across the city, country, and globe this summer. Whether working at paid internships or learning new languages, students use the summer to complement the learning they do in the classroom during the school year. With less than a month left before school starts, we’ll feature students and their opportunities throughout the summer!
Name: Sarah Young
Year: 2018
Major: Comparative Human Development
Minor: Spanish
Summer Opportunity: School Intern at the The Primary School in East Palo Alto, CA
How did you find your summer opportunity?
I had the opportunity to visit the organization on a trek last spring through University of Chicago Careers in Education Professions and was excited to see on Handshake that UChicago was offering a Metcalf position at this truly special and innovative organization.
What’s been the highlight of your summer?
Most of my internship took place during the students' summer break so the first day of classes for this upcoming school year was a definite highlight for me. It was truly rewarding to see the teachers, parent coaches, and other members of the organization team interacting with the families and students and leading them into the classrooms that the other interns and myself had physically constructed and designed. I saw the children smiling, playing, learning, and happy (once they got over the first day of preschool cries of course!) in all of the spaces we had helped craft for them assured me that all of our hard work preparing curriculum materials, building IKEA furniture, and organizing the classrooms had been well worth it.
How does your summer opportunity contribute to your academic experience in the College?
The Primary School is crafting a whole new model of what it means to be a school by combining education and health services and truly engaging the parents. I am amazed by the fact that I get to work with and speak with people in the organization who are tackling the issues regarding education, health, and early childcare that I discuss in my comparative human development courses. I have the wonderful opportunity to see how the research I study is being considered in a real life setting.