Twenty-nine high school students are stepping out of the classroom and into the real world to apply their knowledge to hands-on, cutting-edge research and professional projects with renowned local scientists, doctors, professors and experts over the next two months in Pasadena and Los Angeles.
The Apprenticeship Program, created and administered by Pasadena-based Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA), links gifted high school students from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds with mentors in Pasadena and Los Angeles who advance each participant’s skills through the application of knowledge and exposure to real world experiences. In an effort to ensure as many qualified students as possible have access to this experience, IEA provides financial aid to those students in need.
“I think it is very important for young bright students to have the opportunity to try research and spend a few weeks in a university research lab, and I am very happy to help make this happen,” said Dr. Van Savage, UCLA professor and IEA Apprenticeship mentor. “I wish more people helped these kids; they are amazing!”
Pasadena-area Apprenticeships include industrial design at a local art institution and astronomy and astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Eleven Apprentices will be working in Pasadena. Other Apprenticeships in Los Angeles include cancer research at The Angeles Clinic, pediatric medical research at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, law at the Inner City Law Center, biochemistry and neuroscience at UCLA and biomedical engineering and data and computer science at USC.
In its 16th year, IEA’s residential summer Apprenticeship Program has provided more than 600 gifted high school students nationwide with the opportunity to further develop their high intellectual ability by matching each student’s unique gifts, talents and interests with the most appropriate mentors and work sites. It also encourages students to balance this intellectual ability with their social, spiritual, emotional, and physical growth.
The 2014 program runs June 22 to Aug. 9 in Los Angeles and Pasadena. Students are housed in dorms at USC and spend their days working with mentors in a variety of subject areas. In the evenings and on weekends, Apprentices participate in IEA-facilitated leadership and character building activities, attend cultural events, participate in recreational activities and explore Los Angles. Outings planned for this summer include the Levitt Pavilion Summer Music Festival, the Griffith Park Shakespeare Festival and the Getty museum.
Students are also exposed to college life, living in dorms away from their families with other students their age and experiencing high-level research and work experience. This is valuable to the many students who have not set foot on a college campus. IEA facilitates workshops to help students prepare for the college application process, and Apprentices often go on to attend prestigious colleges and universities, including many who enroll at their host institutions.
Since 1998, IEA has been dedicated to the whole child, nurturing gifted children ages 2-18. Independent of government funding, IEA gives students the tools to work toward actualizing their full intellectual and personal potential in a safe and supportive environment.