With an April 14 deadline fast approaching, Montgomery County Public Schools is urging organizations to sign up to host students through a hands-on free summer learning program called Summer RISE. Over 2,100 students have participated in the program since its 2017 launch, and organizers said they are struggling to keep up with growing demand.
Created by now-Council member Will Jawando (D-At-Large) and Elaine Chang from the MCPS Department of Partnerships, Summer RISE—or Reimagining an Innovative Student Experience—offers high school juniors and seniors a chance to explore a career they’re interested in by paring them with a government office, business or nonprofit for several weeks of shadowing and learning in July. Its first summer, over 400 students participated.
“It’s such a unique take on the typical summer internship for students,” Jawando told MoCo360. “This allows students to get their hands on tangible information that may eventually lead them to pursue a career in an industry they otherwise wouldn’t have thought about working in.”
To be considered, students fill out an application explaining their career interests. The MCPS Department of Partnerships then pairs them with a host business that aligns with their interests and their geographic location.
Students then spend 50 hours over the course of five weeks beginning June 26 working closely with their host organization and exploring their field of interest. The experience can be in-person, virtual or hybrid, and students earn a $500 stipend from partner Worksource Montgomery for participating.
The top industry students request is computer science, with 252 students expressing interest in an opportunity this coming summer. Currently, MCPS only has seven slots available through its partner hosts. Other top fields of interest show similar disparities in availability: 177 students asked to be pared with a host in biomedical research, but only two opportunities are available.
Chang runs the program as the department director and said she’s proud of the way her team has been able to help students shape their futures through the program.
“This is our last push to recruit hosts,” she said. “We’re just growing and spreading, and we have some incredible partners who have been so gracious with our students. The more the merrier.”
This year for the first time, the Food and Drug Administration is opening its doors to students in connection with the program, and other prominent partners such as Holy Cross Hospital and Glenstone are continuing to expand their offerings, Chang said.
Glenstone is a large energy-efficient contemporary art museum located in Potomac and has been hosting Summer RISE students since 2019. Community Engagement Manager Francisca Moraga Lopez said when she found out how desperately MCPS needed hosts to help meet student demand, the museum decided to more than quadruple its offerings this year—going from hosting five students last year to hosting 21 this year.
“At Glenstone, we love a challenge,” she said. “With the leadership team’s support, we were able to get the whole organization involved this year.”
Moraga Lopez said the team at MCPS does “an incredible job of matching energy and experience” when pairing students with hosts. “They also do a great job of training and empowering us as hosts to feel like this is doable and manageable,” she added.
Glenstone’s biggest challenge as a host organization was thinking beyond the museum’s immediate industry to expand opportunities for students, Moraga Lopez said. For example, while some students this summer will be helping clean art exhibits and maintain the plant life, others will be working with the museum’s communications department, engineers, maintenance and security teams.
“Having that flexibility of going beyond your audience industry is a great way to unlock more opportunities in your organization,” Moraga Lopez said. “It was an eye-opening moment for us to realize that.”
Timaya Pulliam, a senior at Sherwood High in Olney, spent two summers working in County Executive Marc Elrich’s Public Information Office through Summer RISE. She named entertainment, media and law as her top three areas of interest on her program application.
“I want to make a difference for people of color and marginalized communities in the entertainment industry,” she said. “My experiences in the program definitely solidified the public work I want to do in the future.”
During her time with Elrich, she said she covered press events and meetings, learned about journalism, worked with social media and interviewed Elrich twice.
“I’m just so thankful for the experience overall,” she said. “I learned so much from it and had a lot of fun. It definitely made me want to work in the communication sector.”
Jawando said his office has had the pleasure of welcoming multiple “Summer Risers” over the years and said he has “thoroughly enjoyed” hosting students. This year, he said he sent a letter to his colleagues on the council encouraging them to participate as well.
“The program allows students to explore different career options and gain exposure to industries they may not have considered or rule out things they previously thought they may have been interested in—which is equally as important,” Jawando wrote to MoCo360. “This can help students make more informed decisions about their future education and career paths.”
On top of gaining real-world experience, he said the program also helps student develop a sense of accomplishment and confidence in their abilities, which can lead to improved self-esteem and a sense of self-efficacy, “which can benefit them in all areas of life.”
As a host organization, Moraga Lopez emphasized the importance of going into the program with a commitment to serving students.
“This isn’t an internship. This is about mentorship and youth engagement,” she said. “We’ve committed the month of July to students, and we’re proud of that.”
Businesses can register to become a Summer RISE host by visiting the program’s website. Looking ahead, Moraga Lopez said Glenstone’s goal is to host 50 students by summer 2025.
“I think after this year, maybe we’ll try for 30 next year,” she said.