Draelos Science Scholars Paid Internship opportunity: grades 10 & 11

The Draelos Science Scholars program is a highly selective paid summer internship for students interested in STEM-related careers. Students will work alongside professors at area Triad universities (such as Wake Forest University) and do hands-on research working in lab facilities. An article about the Draelos Science Scholars program is available here: https://www.hpcommunityfoundation.org/draelos-science-scholars-program/

Cornerstone’s own Class of 2020 seniors, Erik Peterson and Virginia Wright, were selected as Draelos Science Scholars last school year. Both Wake Forest and UNC-Greensboro plan to offer Draelos Science Scholars sponsored lab mentorships in June/July. Last year they sponsored 25 students from High Point & Greensboro area high schools for a 6-week program, meeting 5 days a week from 8-5, covering projects in chemistry, genetics, nanoscience, biology, and psychology.     

During the last 5 years, they have placed nearly 65 students as members of working teams conducting laboratory research supervised by a college professor. Alumni from our program report tremendous benefit from the experience not only in developing research interests and gaining lab expertise but also in terms of strengthening college applications and winning scholarships. It is our hope the program will prove similarly beneficial to Cornerstone students this year.

Criteria for acceptance: Review of application for academic achievement, essay composition, and letters of recommendation.  

Upon completion of the program, students receive a $750 stipend and a letter of recommendation from their mentor.  Last summer, the program was administered virtually for safety reasons due to the coronavirus epidemic, but this coming summer year we anticipate the same in-person experience as in years prior to the pandemic. 

I hope that we’ll have some Cornerstone students apply and start working on their application essays over Winter Break because they are due back (they can be scanned and emailed) by Monday, February 1, 2021.

I can assist students with scanning and emailing their applications. Here was my correspondence with Dr. Draelos last school year:

“Dear Ms. Bell, We look forward to an opportunity to review the applications of your students and hopefully find a research spot for them. The program generally begins at the end of June/early July and ends mid-August but is at the discretion of the professors. Best regards, Drs. Michael And Zoe Draelos”