De Anza College held a summer program meeting on April 27. The program offers students six or 12 month internships at $12 an hour.

The program offers internships in different fields at NASA-Ames and other private industries to students of De Anza, Foothill and other community colleges in the Bay Area.

“You’re not just an intern,” said internship program coordinator Marti Carlson. “They treat you like a member of a team.”

The educational program offers a paid way to get the experience needed to put ones’ resume at the top of the stack on an employer’s desk.

Interns typically work Mondays through Fridays, 20 to 40 hours a week.

Students are required to enroll in five units to participate in the internship program.

The summer application deadline is May 11. Applicants are required to have a 2.5 GPA, U.S. citizenship, two instructor references and a current resume.

Internships available are in the fields of multimedia, Web design, computer science, communications, engineering, business and science. The program gives students the chance to pad their resumes and learn from real-world training.

“It’s a real experience,” said internship program coordinator Kelly Masegian, “not just fetching coffee.”

Jeremy Creager, a former intern, spoke at the meeting about his experience.

“They were very nice to me. They didn’t really try to push me on anything but they made suggestions,” Creager said.

Creager is being hired as a full-time employee this December at the NASA-Ames program.

“Going to work is not a hassle for me,” Creager said. “And I don’t dread it.” The program coordinators and NASA helped him through the internship process.

“They just want to see if you’re going try to get outside your comfort zone,” Creager said.

Students can apply at http://internships.fhda.edu.