From Capitol Hill to Lunar Mining: Sage Hill Summer Interns Explore Careers
Isaac Alegria ‘26 rubbed shoulders this summer with U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill alongside a cohort of Latino youth leaders hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI).
Among the national monument stops for the 40 sharply dressed students with the NextGen Latino Leadership Program was a group photo on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building.
“In this transformative experience, I was able to dive deeply into the workings of our government, meet with congressional offices, and visit some of our nation's most historical monuments,” Isaac said.
CHCI provides an all-expenses paid leadership experience for young leaders like Isaac to learn about the legislative process, develop leadership skills and explore Washington, D.C.
Isaac’s story is just one of dozens from Sage Hill students’ summers supported by the Sage Hill Internship Program (SHIP). Before students enter the workforce, SHIP prepares 10th through 12th grade students with the skills necessary to confidently talk with professionals about their passions, goals and achievements.
Ninth graders start with the Pre-SHIP Experience that offers the Find Your Grind education platform, which empowers students to explore new ways to think about themselves, their interests and skill sets. As upperclassmen, students advance to resume workshops, resume reviews, mock job interviews and digital profile building.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of SHIP is seeing our students put their skills into action,” said Verginie Touloumian, Assistant Director to the Sage Center for Service Learning and Internships. “As summer approaches, our students use the resumes they've created and the interview techniques they've practiced to successfully apply for a wide range of summer opportunities. These experiences are invaluable in helping them gain real-world insights and build confidence in professional interactions.”
Here is a round-up of what Sage Hill student interns were up to this summer:
Boeing
Boeing
Five Sage Hill students joined the Boeing High School Internship Program for eight weeks this summer in Huntington Beach and Seal Beach.
Justin Graham ‘25, Shaan Kamdar ‘25, Alyssa Tse ‘25, Tony Tan ‘25 and Alen Zhang ‘25 were immersed in the aerospace industry along with 63 other Orange County high school students.
Shaan interned with Boeing’s systems and engineering team on building software models that could help shape a future mission to mine Helium-3, a potential clean and efficient energy source, from the Moon’s surface.
With experience and a keen interest in coding, Shaan said he was excited to play a small role in space exploration. His internship cohort was mentored and certified by Boeing engineers to use the software STK [Systems Tool Kit] to simulate the environment rovers encounter on the Moon as well as what drills to deploy and how to break the regolith of the moon.
“I've always been kind of intrigued by, ‘what's out there?’ What can we find up there?’ I've done mostly coding and software stuff, so in this program, I was able to link the two together,” Shaan said.
After completing his third year in SHIP, Shaan said he felt well prepared to not only interview but perform well at the aerospace giant. Besides being assigned his first office cubicle, Shaan also enjoyed working alongside and learning from other high school interns.
Shaan helped tremendously in making sure the interns' poster presentation session was successful this summer, said Eric Eichinger, a Boeing chemical technology manager and high school internship program coordinator.
Shaan helped tremendously in making sure the interns' poster presentation session was successful this summer, said Eric Eichinger, a Boeing chemical technology manager and high school internship program coordinator.
Student Sports Medicine Assistant for Sage Athletics
Finley Maynard ‘26 is a triple threat in the Sage Hill Athletics Department. She’s a member of the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team and a founding Girl’s Flag Football teammate.
She also served as the first Student Sports Medicine Assistant in the school’s athletic training office in the spring and summer of 2024. With supervision from Athletic Trainer Jacqueline Davidson, Finley learned about various injuries athletes endure and techniques to mitigate them.
Specifically, Finley trained on how to wrap up joints with tape, proper timing for applying ice or heat to certain injuries, the importance of rest and exercise in rebuilding muscle and other sports medicine protocols.
“I think the most rewarding part of my internship has been being able to connect with other students on a different level because when they’re injured there’s a specific type of vulnerability that they face,” Finley said.
Finley followed in the footsteps of Lola Yeh ‘24, who broke new ground in 2022 as the first Sage Hill student to intern in the school’s athletic training office. Earlier this year, the internship was brought under SHIP, which requires students to reflect on where they exceeded their expectations, memorable highlights and whether or not they’d consider returning as an intern.
“I’m just very grateful for this opportunity thanks to Lola [Yeh] in part as trailblazer,” Finley said.
Yeh is studying at University of Oregon this fall and said she plans to pursue a career in orthopedic surgery.
Davidson said she is impressed by Finley’s confidence in interacting with injured athletes and her ability to think critically about the challenges they face.
“I loved it when Finley would listen in on conversations with athletes and even chime in about what she’s done to help own well-being whether that’s an injury, nutrition or general wellness,” Davidson said.
CHOC Mi4 Internship Program
Julia Ball ‘26 was among 12 participants selected from her CHOC Hospital Mi4 Summer Internship Program to present a medical advancement to hospital medical staff on August 7. Julia proposed her solution for a smaller and cheaper automated external defibrillator (AED) consisting of a smartphone app and modified phone case.
“The device was geared especially toward communities with below average socioeconomic status,” Julia said. “Neighborhoods that have largely Black and Hispanic residents have less access to an AED than predominantly white communities. I wanted to make sure that everyone has access to an AED.”
At 5 years old, Julia witnessed a pediatrician use CPR to save another child who nearly drowned at a neighborhood pool. The heroic experience partly inspired to pursue a medical career pathway.
Julia hopes her innovative idea for the so-called GuarAEDan device powered by supercapacitor technology could also allow people to pack a life-saving tool for camping trips and other locations where people wouldn't typically have access during a Sudden Cardiac Arrest incident.
When it came time to present this concept to CHOCH physicians, she leaned on the public-speaking and interview techniques she learned from SHIP.
“I think the mock interviews were really helpful,” Julia said. “SHIP prepared me a lot because there were a lot of ‘tell me about yourself’ conversations. We learn what to say and how to tailor it to the job we're applying to.”
Guldjian Fasel Law
Alia Lalvani ’26 enjoyed jumping into the legal industry with Newport Beach-based injury law practice, Guldjian Fasel.
“I gained a lot of experience with litigation and pre-litigation,” Alia said. “I essentially worked as a law clerk for attorney Monica Phan. I made case analysis notes, wrote demand letters, and sat in on depositions with clients.”
Upstream Education
Ella Wong ‘26 launched the Kindness Initiative at Sage Hill, encouraging community members to share random acts of kindness they witnessed during Mental Health Awareness Month as a strategy to boost student mental health. This summer, she continued her work in student wellness as an intern with Upstream Education, which trains teachers on empowering students to build resilience and manage stress.
“I had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the most supportive, intelligent, and empathetic individuals I know,” Ella said. “Every week, the Student Task Force and I would review a few of Upstream Education's mental health lesson plans, and we would provide feedback that was immediately utilized to revise them.”
At the end of her internship, Ella had the opportunity to create her own lesson plan for improving students' self-esteem that can be rolled out to schools nationally.
The Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UC Irvine
Amber Wang ‘26 worked a summer internship within the Paul Merage School of Business with a focus on digital marketing, which included on-the-job training in Mailchimp.
“I collected data from the past participants of the Stella Zhang New Venture Competition and supported the program, including social media management and promotion,” Amber said.
Stanford University School of Medicine
Dharma Le ‘26 served a five-and-a-half week research internship at the Stanford School of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The study’s findings are confidential at this time but Dharma was excited to play a role in this cutting-edge work.
Sage Hill School
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.