Sage Hill Summer Interns Emerge as Young Professionals

Even with beautiful weather drawing crowds to Orange County beaches, many Sage Hill students rolled up their sleeves and were ready for on-the-job learning this summer.

Dozens of Sage Hill students were engaged by real-world employers this summer with support from the Sage Hill Internship Program (SHIP). Before students enter the workforce, SHIP prepares 10th through 12th grade students with the skills necessary to confidently talk with professionals about their passions, goals and achievements.

Ninth graders start with the Pre-SHIP Experience that offers the Find Your Grind education platform, which empowers students to explore new ways to think about themselves, their interests and skill sets. As upperclassmen, students advance to resume workshops, resume reviews, mock job interviews and digital profile building.

Here are just some of the highlights from our latest summer interns:

Boeing
Five Sage Hill students joined the Boeing High School Internship Program for eight weeks this summer in Huntington Beach and Seal Beach.

Annika Shah ‘26, Jayla Chan ‘26, Justin Kline ‘26, Zaydin Lateef ‘26 and Chandon Heer ’26 were among 62 Orange County high school students immersed in the aerospace industry over their summer break.

Chandon interned with Boeing’s systems and engineering team on building software models that could help shape future space missions to mine Helium-3, a potential clean and efficient energy source, from the Moon’s surface.

“I would say that learning physics here at Sage Hill has been a huge help,” Chandon said. “Robotics has also been helpful more so in other areas of the internship. Just knowing what it takes to make something and put it together. It just gives you a bit of experience in ‘OK that probably won't go well. Maybe I should try this?’”

After this experience, Chandon feels driven to pursue a major in electrical engineering because of its application in a diverse slate of industries whether that be in aerospace, electric vehicle design or architecture. The rising senior also credits his mentor, Boeing Program Manager and Chief Engineer Andrew Born, with inspiring summer interns to come up with their own ideas while using software simulations to launch rockets and satellites.

In the commercial aviation division, Jayla worked on both new aircraft design and mapping every part in the supply chain that goes into the airframe from nose to tail.

“I learned a whole lot about not just aircraft design, but just about the industry in general,” Jayla said. “I think I got a really cool insight into what it's like working in industry rather than an academic or university setting. I really appreciated that.”

Sage Hill students were also assigned to work on different parts of the internship program including summer yearbook production, planning a poster session and coordinating team-building activities.

Alzheimer's Association
After participating in SHIP throughout her sophomore year, Aanya Pillai ’27 followed her passion to find a cure for Alzheimer's and all other dementias by attending the three-day Alzheimer's Impact Movement Forum in Washington, D.C. Aanya joined fellow advocates in visiting lawmakers to secure their support for bipartisan legislation.

Back at home, Aanya also shadowed a slate of highly accomplished physicians with practices in oral surgery, cardiovascular and pediatrics.

City of Irvine
Isaac Alegria ‘26 is interning in municipal government with Irvine Councilmember Mike Carroll’s Office. He supported community relations at public events like National Night Out at the Great Park and will stay on as a part-time employee this school year. Last summer, Isaac traveled to Capitol Hill with a cohort of Latino youth leaders hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI).

Chris and Frank Accident Attorneys
Alexia Beyrath '26 and Liam Sapan '27 shadowed personal injury attorney Chris Guldjian at Chris and Frank Accident Attorneys.

Imperial Dermatology
Aseel Al-Ali '27 donned scrubs to intern with board-certified dermatologist Dr. Jessie Hou at Imperial Dermatology.

Altai Capital Management
Ben Ahn '27 participated in a shadow day at Altai Capital Management, gaining insight into entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation through our partnership with TiE Orange County.

UCI School of Medicine
William Chen ’26 interned under board-certified general adult psychiatrist Dr. Drew Park on developing an improved genetic test that would tell people whether their bodies can safely clear out the toxins in alcohol. William said dug into the clinical environment by reading scientific papers, designing studies and drafting procedures for peer review.
 
“We hope to change people's drinking habits with this improved genetic test,” William said.