Why do internships in high school?
Before we jump into a long list of legal internships for high school students in Chicago, it is important to understand why these opportunities could matter for your future. According to PRISM, a consultancy, 70% of students attending a US News top 50 University have completed at least one internship while in high school. These opportunities serve as a way to distinguish yourself in the admissions process by showing that you have gone out and verified your future goals through experience. Doing internships will help you enter college with a clearer idea of the professional environments you enjoy or don’t enjoy, which will make it easier for you to recruit into a job you love after graduation. Students who have done at least one internship in high school also typically have an easier time recruiting into college internships and pre-professional organizations such as finance or pre-law clubs.
How to Find Legal Internships for High School Students in Chicago
The best way to find legal internships for high school students in Chicago is through online search tools and lists. The StandOutSearch database provides the largest free resource that lists almost every internship program for the high school age group and allows you to search by interest area. MIT Admissions also provides a helpful list of High School Internships.
However, official programs tend to be very competitive, so if you are serious about finding a summer internship in high school, you should also prepare a cold outreach strategy. You can read more about how to form a cold outreach strategy to find a high school internship at the end of this article. We also include email templates to make finding an internship or research position through cold outreach less daunting.
7 Legal Internships for High School Students in Chicago
Most of the legal internships for high school students in Chicago below have an acceptance rate of 20% or lower, given that there are many more high school students looking for internships relative to official programs that provide them. We recommend choosing at least five opportunities to apply to. If you see an opportunity that excites you, take a moment to write the deadline on your calendar!
Ages: 15-19
Location: Virtual
Timeline: Summer, Spring, Fall, or Winter
Deadline: Various Deadlines
StandOut Connect is a program created thanks to investment from UChicago’s Polsky Center for Innovation that matches high school students with internships in their interest area. Students interview with potential mentors who are leaders and innovators within their area of interest until they are hired for a two-month internship. Many students then receive optional return offers to continue with their internship for as long as they would like.
Ages: 17, 18
Location: Chicago
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Contact for Deadline
As a part of Mikva Summer Fellows (MSF) program, you will be placed in a paid summer internship in the office of a city, county, state or federal lawmaker. You will work 30 hours a week for 6 weeks between late June and early August, and be paid $17.00 per hour. In addition to working in an elected official’s office, Mikva Summer Fellows will be part of a professional development cohort focused on developing work readiness skills including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, public speaking, and teamwork. Fellows will meet weekly with Mikva staff to create career goals, complete workforce readiness assessments, and track their progress in the program.
Ages: 15, 16, 17, 18
Location: Chicago
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Rolling
The course takes place at Saper Law Offices and is taught by Daliah Saper and other Saper Law attorneys. The curriculum consists of negotiation and writing exercises, field trips, and mock legal proceedings. Since Saper Law practices heavily in the areas of social media and digital technology, a key component of the exercises will involve entertainment, business, and internet related legal case studies. Past guest lecturers have included: former Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Evelyn Sanguinetti, Government Attorneys for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, In-House Counsel at United Airlines and Fin-tech company Avant, former Counsel for the Jerry Springer Show, as well as criminal, civil rights, environmental, immigration, employment, estate, family and regulatory lawyers from a variety of firms.
Ages: 16, 17, 18
Location: Chicago
Timeline: Year Round
Deadline: Rolling
Chicago Youth Service Corps is a year-round program where youth ages 16-24 earn money while supporting the City. The program offers opportunities for community service, project-based learning and leadership development. Chicago Youth Service Corps celebrates and welcomes diverse backgrounds and encourages you to bring your experience, background, and traditions to your service.
Ages: 15, 16, 17, 18
Location: Chicago
Timeline: Year Round
Deadline: Varies
The Internship and Externship Program at CAIR-Chicago offers students a great opportunity to learn, interact, and grow in a friendly and diverse environment. Our program is career-oriented and based in grassroots activism.
Ages: 16, 17, 18
Location: Chicago
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: March
The VALOR JROTC Program is a highly competitive, paid, six-week summer internship opportunity for Illinois JROTC high school juniors, seniors, and recent graduates. Interns provide routine technical support for area of assignment; typically, an experiment or support group. Tasks are accomplished under direct supervision of a Fermilab employee and in cooperation with project teams, scientists, engineers, and support personnel and in accordance with established policies and procedures.
Ages: 16, 17, 18
Location: Chicago
Timeline: Year Round
Deadline: Rolling
In 2017, Urban Alliance partnered with the Obama Foundation to launch the Obama Youth Job Corps (OYJC) to increase access to economic opportunity for high school students in Chicago’s South Side communities. Since the launch of OYJC, we have provided over 1,700 10th and 11th graders from Chicago Public Schools with job skills training and an additional 650 12th graders with intensive workforce readiness training, and paid internships. Through workforce readiness training and early, meaningful work experience at businesses throughout the city, OYJC students get the skills, experience, and exposure to succeed.
Cold Outreach Strategy for High School Internships
If the opportunities listed above don’t turn out to be a fit, the next step to finding legal internships for high school students in Chicago is to launch a cold outreach strategy. This may seem intimidating at first, but the guide below should make it much more simple. As an added note, please exercise caution when reaching out to professionals you don’t know. It is always safest to interview or meet virtually.
How to Find Companies to Reach Out to for a High School Internship
Use LinkedIn to find small companies where you can help with skills such as social media, coding, content/grant writing, or graphic design. Smaller companies that need more hands on deck will be the most likely to hire high-school-aged students. Try to find personal connections with the professionals you reach out to, such as being from the same state originally or liking the same sports team.
How to Find Professors to Reach Out to for a High School Research Position
You can use online university staff directories to find professors to reach out to for research positions. Note that if you are looking for a remote research position with a professor, you should be aware that these opportunities tend to be harder to come by. Professors typically have high school students help with more manual laboratory tasks such as washing beakers or running equipment and usually do not have very much use for interns at a high school education level within a remote setting. The exception is if you are doing computational research, which generally requires introductory knowledge of Python or R to parse large datasets. You should be able to learn Python or R on your own for free within a few months using resources such as Coursera’s R Programming Course or Python for Everybody.
How to Structure and Send Outreach Emails
For a successful cold-outreach strategy, aim to send at least 50 emails to potential internship providers. Be sure to include a link to your resume, which should be no more than one page while you are in high school. UChicago provides a helpful free resume template and guide. We recommend including your resume as a Google Drive link because including it as a PDF will sometimes negatively impact the deliverability of your email. However, be sure to check that the sharing settings on the document allow anyone with the link to view its contents. It can also be a good idea to include work samples in your resume, such as the link to a website you designed, a social media account you manage, or your GitHub profile.
Email Template for Finding a High School Internship
If you are unsure how to structure your outreach emails to potential internship providers, here are some basic templates you can customize to your needs.
Template for Finding an Internship
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Mr./Ms.____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I read about your company on LinkedIn and found the concept quite interesting. For context, [briefly state how the company relates to your interests or experience].
I was wondering if you might be looking for interns. I know I would have a great deal to learn from working with you, and I would love to contribute in any way I can. I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Template for Finding a Research Position
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Professor/Dr. ____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I recently read your paper on [restate the abstract] in [name of publication] and was quite intrigued by [part you found interesting]. I was wondering if I might be able to intern for you over this summer. [Elaborate on your relevant skills and experience and why you are passionate about the field].
I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Conclusion
Whether you are applying to established programs or launching a cold outreach strategy, the name of the game when looking for legal internships for high school students in Chicago is perseverance. These opportunities can be extremely difficult to secure, but most high school students find it worth it in the end to get a head start on building their careers. If you found this article helpful, don’t forget to save it for later or share it with a friend. Good luck on your internship search journey!
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