SMASH Rising
SMASH ACADEMY
SMASH RISING
From SMASH Academy to SMASH Rising:
A new take on internship preparation and early workplace exposure
SMASH Rising, a new take on internship preparation and workplace exposure, places teams of SMASH alumni at workplaces early in their college career. Our newest program provides alumni with a dedicated project manager supporting challenges being faced.
This is a paid internship for SMASH alumni entering their first, second, and third years of college putting the skills honed at SMASH Academy into action.
How SMASH Rising Works:
PARTNER
SMASH partners up with industry leaders.
BUILD A POD
SMASH carefully selects and prepares a teams of interns and project managers.
SOLVE
For 5 weeks, alumni teams work together on-site, use Design & Prototype Thinking to solve real challenges facing our partners.
LEARN
Fridays are dedicated to professional development and civic engagement.
FUTURE
Collectively invest in the future of work.
Schedule:
Week 1: Onboarding
Week 2: Monday – Thursday onsite
Week 3: Monday – Thursday onsite
Week 4: Monday – Thursday onsite
Week 5: Monday – Thursday onsite
*Friday locations to be announced (Friday Seminar)
*Select sites will be seven weeks long
Friday Seminar:
Added learning will take place on Fridays through workshops, speakers and site visits. Each Friday Seminar will have a theme and a host site where pods will convene.
Project Manager:
Most sites will have an assigned Project Manager (hired and trained by SMASH) to support the pod throughout the experience, to liaise between the partner, and to ensure project goals are met.
Housing:
Like most internships, interns are required to find housing, plan for meals, and commute to and from sites. SMASH can help support interns to find housing, but it is ultimately interns’ responsibility to secure housing and financially plan for the summer. Please email rising@smash.org for more information.
Compensation:
SMASH Rising offers paid and unpaid internships. $1,000 per week (depending on the site, this is either $5,000 total for 5 weeks or $7,000 total for 7 weeks). If you plan to relocate to a different city for SMASH Rising, you will be responsible for managing your own budget during the internship (this sample scholar budget should help you plan financially for the program).
If you have any questions about relocation or compensation, email us at rising@smash.org.
SMASH Rising Impact
Decades of social science research shows that students – especially underrepresented students of color – retain knowledge better when they can connect to what they learn and apply it to the world around them.
SMASH Rising interns have created a banking app to teach children about personal finance, analyzed lab samples to identify potential biomarkers to detect cancer, and developed a strategy for a delivery company to reach underserved markets. Watch the video below to learn more about the SMASH Rising experience.
Meet the Scholars
Eligibility Requirements
Scholars must meet all of the requirements below in order to apply to SMASH Rising. Please reach out to rising@smash.org you need to discuss requirements further.
Year: Scholars that graduate(d) high school in 2018, 2019, and 2020 (rising first, second, and third-year college students)
Site: SMASH Alumnus (Berkeley, Davis, Morehouse, Stanford, UCLA)
Location: Reside in Atlanta, Bay Area, Los Angeles, Miami OR be willing to relocate for the entire duration of the SMASH Rising program
Passion: Excited to collaboratively work on a team, a desire to professionally strengthen critical thinking, public speaking, leadership and sense of social responsibility
Career: A career interest in business, technology, or research across a wide range of functions and industries
Work Eligibility: To be eligible to work in the US, you need these documents in order to prove identity and authorization to work (either a List A document or a combination of List B and C documents). If you do not or are not sure if you have these documents, but are still interested in participating in Rising, please contact rising@smash.org ASAP.
Alumni Survey (does not apply to high school seniors): Completed 2019 Alumni Survey by the SMASH Rising application deadline (sent out in Fall 2019). Please email rising@smash.org to receive the survey if you have not completed it already
Application Deadline
The 2020 Rising Application opens on December 2, 2019 and closes on February 18, 2020.
2020 SMASH Rising Dates
Onboarding (training) dates: June 22 – June 26
June 22 – 24: Onboarding in SF Bay Area
June 25: Travel day
June 26. Onboarding at each site
Onsite begins: June 29
5 week internship ends: July 24
7 week internship ends: August 7
Please see this chart for a week-by-week breakdown.
If you have any eligibility questions, please email: rising@smash.org.
Supporting Research
- The Leaky Tech Pipeline
- More Than “Getting Us Through:” A Case Study in Cultural Capital Enrichment of Underrepresented Minority Undergraduates
- Preparing Tomorrow’s STEM Workforce Through Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers
- Humans wanted: why automation won’t kill off your job