The Harvard Ed Portal Summer Internship Program was started to create a workplace environment for high schoolers in the Boston area. The program provides a valuable introduction to the work environment along with experience in specific areas that the interns are interested in. The interns choose their cohort project according to their interests, ranging from arts, web development, lab skills, storytelling, to youth programming. Each cohort creates a unique final project.

An additional component of the Harvard Ed Portal Summer Internship Program are staff mentorships. Interns are paired with Harvard staff members who share valuable experiences and provide answers to questions concerning personal and professional development. The staff mentors offer guidance and advice on navigating life.

The College and Career Awareness segment of the program forms the final component of the program. Interns attend sessions about how to prepare for college and their futures biweekly. The topics of the sessions range from college applications and choosing majors to racism in the professional world. Guest speakers share their experiences with the interns and offer advice. Office hours offer interns an additional opportunity to connect with the College and Career awareness mentors to ask personal questions and gain deeper insight into their career trajectories.

The Harvard Ed Portal Summer Internship Program was created in the summer of 2020 as an alternative to the Summer Youth Employment Program, Harvard’s main program for employing high school youth, which typically runs every summer. The Summer Youth Employment Program was originally created to help the youth of Boston become more social and active in their community. The Harvard Ed Portal Summer Internship Program offers its interns an opportunity to develop their interests with the help of professional guidance. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the program has been run remotely, with interns and staff interaction via zoom.