CC Spin

Sunpower offers students internships

Thursday, November 03, 2011 By Courtney Carlson, California High School

Sunpower, an international solar panel corporation, offered four Cal High students summer internships as an opportunity to share information about the company’s trade and encourage students to do the same. The whole student population took note last year as workers began deconstructing Cal’s parking lot, which was the first step in a district-wide project to install solar panels in the parking lots at local public schools. Cal High was among three other SRVUSD schools to receive such an opportunity. Sunpower, who specializes in the installation of solar technology, took four students from each school, and gave them internships with the company, at the solar institute. Alyssa Freels and Daniel Fix, Cal juniors, got involved with the program through the 2010 sophomore Engineering Academy. Tim Farley, senior, came from last year’s junior Engineering Academy, and Saundarya Mehra, senior, came from leadership. “We wanted committed, strong students,” said Scott Hodges, U.S. History and previous Engineering Academy teacher, who helped select the recipients of the internships. He was picked by the SRVUSD to be the on-site coordinator for the two weeks that the students were involved. Hodges made sure that the students were attending and did networking between the school district and Sunpower. “We worked with a representative from Sunpower for ten days,” said Alyssa. “In the first week we were taught all about solar panels, and in the second week we made presentations about what we learned.” The sixteen students learned everything about solar panels- from the costs and the process of manufacturing to designing systems during the weeks of July 25 th and August 5 th . “We even got hands-on training with the technology,” said Tim. “Then we were able to show off our hard work to Sunpower itself in a presentation that we made.” “The internship was a great opportunity,” said Daniel. “We learned everything there is to know about solar, like what goes into a school district project, and talked to different employees of Sunpower.” Besides earning $1,000 each for their hard work, the students gained indelible skills and unforgettable experiences. They put in a lot of hard work with the other twelve students from around the district not only to learn about the solar systems, but also to create a presentation, turning them from students into teachers. “I think it was a great opportunity for the students,” said Hodges. “It really cultivated their interest in solar systems.” The four Cal students extended their experience by presenting at the freshman orientation. “This experience was the most rewarding thing of my summer,” said Alyssa. “I’m no longer afraid to talk in front of people; every ounce of stage fright is gone.” Another intern also thought that this was a great experience. “It was great exposure to all of the different jobs involved in making solar a reality,” said Daniel. “I’m so glad I did it.”