PANAMA CITY, Fla. –
Six high school students completed their summer internships through the Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) July 26 after spending eight weeks at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD).
SEAP provides an opportunity for high school students to participate in research at a Department of Navy (DoN) laboratory during the summer. This is the first time the SEAP internship has been available to high school students in our area for over a decade.
Capt. Aaron Peters, commanding officer at NSWC PCD, said offering internships at the high school level allows teens to gain experience working in a variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields with the DoN.
“It is important to grasp the attention of our future generations and pique their interest in STEM related fields. Internships such as SEAP allow students to see the immense impact their work can have for the U.S. Navy,” said Peters. “SEAP fosters collaboration by enabling students to conduct hands-on work side-by-side with Navy scientists and engineers to develop new ideas that could potentially be another innovative tool in our toolbox for giving the tactical advantage to our Sailors and Marines.”
The goals of SEAP are to encourage participating high school students to pursue science and engineering careers, to further their education via mentoring by laboratory personnel and their participation in research, and to make them aware of DoN research and technology efforts, which can lead to future employment within the DoN.
Paige George, NSWC PCD STEM outreach program manager, encourages students to apply for the SEAP internship to broaden their knowledge in the STEM field and gain a greater understanding of the work the Navy does.
“Students should pursue a SEAP internship to see firsthand the type of work the Navy does in support of the warfighter,” said George. “The interns will have a better appreciation for the mission of the Navy’s work before they begin college, and ultimately achieve their goal of earning a career.”
Students participating in the internship represented four Bay County schools including North Bay Haven High School, Bay High School, Mosley High School, and Rutherford High School.
SEAP provided competitive research internships to 250 high school students this year. Participating students spend eight weeks during the summer doing research at 28 DoN laboratories.
For more information about the SEAP internship, or to apply for next summer, please visit: https://seap.asee.org/. The 2020 application window opens August 1.