Hopkins' Salinas Intern Program
In 2015, David Cade, a graduate student at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station , founded a mentoring program in collaboration with Salinas High School to increase access to science for local underrepresented groups. Each year, the program has paired high school mentees with graduate student mentors at Hopkins to learn directly what it is like to be a researcher. Students work together in direct support of their supervisor's research and develop a small, original project that they then present to parents and members of the Hopkins community at the end of the school year. For 2021-22, we have confirmed an engagement of 5 mentee-mentor pairs.
Historically, the program has been unfunded and students have paid for transportation to and from the Hopkins campus (~60 mile round trip from Salinas HS) out of their own pocket. Beginning this year, due to the fundraising efforts of Will Gough and Dave Cade, a Salinas Intern Fund has been established to pay each student $500 for the quarter. Future funding will also provide new group experiences that go beyond the research laboratory and foster enhanced engagement with the local marine environment.
2023 Coordinator: James Fahlbusch