The following was written by Nancy Rowland, a STEAM Outreach Specialist and DoD STEM Ambassador. DoD STEM Ambassadors work with the Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC) to advance STEM outreach for students who are underrepresented in STEM and/or military connected. Rowland was selected by the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM, a DSEC partner, as their DoD STEM ambassador for the 2021-2022 school year.

If you are considering a career in a STEM field, you might want to investigate internships. Internships are a way for students to apply skills learned in the classroom to a work setting. STEM internships are particularly helpful in providing real-world work experience and giving students an idea of what they like and don’t like in a career. Internships also create opportunities to meet potential mentors who can share feedback and offer help with future career opportunities.

There are many exciting opportunities for high school students who are interested in the STEM career field through the DoD, including at the Army, Navy, and Air Force research institutions. An internship at a DoD research institution provides a truly unique opportunity for students to work directly with, and be mentored by, scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. The experiences and contacts could potentially lead to a career at one of these agencies. A career with a DoD agency does not mean joining the military. Rather, there are many careers with these agencies that are classified as civilian jobs, similar to working for corporations, nonprofits, or nongovernmental agencies.

Generally, the applications ask for similar documents and information. It is good to know what is needed and collect everything before starting the application. Some examples of documents and information you will need are as follows:

• Minimum GPA requirement
• High school transcript
• Teacher recommendations (reach out to teachers ahead of applying to ask if they will serve as your reference)
• Resume
• Response to an essay prompt

How can you prepare for an internship interview?

If you are asked to interview you have made it through the first part of the applicant evaluation process. This is great news! It means you have a real shot of securing the internship. To increase your chances of success, prepare for the interview. First you should research information about the agency and specifically the position for which you are applying. During your research consider the following:

• What skills do you need for this position?
• What questions do you have regarding the position?
• How many students are applying for the position?
• When will you know if you have been selected?

Prepare a list of questions that an interviewer might ask you and practice your responses. Some examples of questions are as follows:

• Why are you applying for this position?
• What might you gain from the experience?
• What experiences do you have that would be of interest to the interviewer?

As you are practicing your responses keep in mind the STAR method of responding to interviewers’ questions. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result.

• Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You must describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized description of what you have done in the past. Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be from a previous job, from a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.
• Task: What goal were you working toward?
• Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project but what you did. Use the word “I,” not “we” when describing actions.
• Result: Describe the outcome of your actions and don’t be shy about taking credit for your behavior. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Make sure your answer contains multiple positive results.

The evening before the interview, pick out clothes that you feel good in and that are professional, such as a collared shirt and a pair of pants, nothing low cut or that is too revealing. If your interview is in person, make sure you know where you are going or who is taking you to the interview. Give yourself plenty of time for unforeseen events, such as traffic. If your interview is virtual make sure you can access the platform (e.g., Zoom, Teams) and log on 10 minutes early. Finally, the night before the interview, get a good night's sleep. This is not the night to go to a big party and be out late.

Once you get to the interview BREATHE! You’ve done what you can to prepare and you have been selected for an interview. As you are responding to questions, PAUSE. Make sure you understand the question and repeat it if you are unsure what they are asking. Interviewers are trying to get to know you — be yourself.

After the interview send a “thank you” note either by email or snail mail. This is old fashioned but will show the interviewer that you are serious and have taken the time to follow up.

Good Luck!