Washoe Country School District
Change Font Size
High School Internship
High School Program
The high school program serves gifted students in a variety of ways, including our leadership in:
- Internships
- Seminars
- Field trips
- Social-emotional development
- Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
- Academic Olympics
The program coordinators develop internships, seminars and field trips. We work with counselors and teachers in areas such as underachievement and social-emotional needs. Every public high school in Washoe County has a counselor who works as a liaison to the GATE program.
The Internship class is unlike any other class students will take in high school, or even college. It is an opportunity to work closely with an expert in a career field each student chooses. The internship is the chance to observe up close and personal what students can only imagine before they actually do it. It can help one make a more informed choice on what colleges to apply to and what majors to consider. Done right, with heart and energy, the internship will set a student apart from others on college and scholarship applications. Your internship can change your life.
Each internship is individually designed to meet GATE students’ diverse interests. Our high school program coordinators make this match a top priority. GATE interns have worked in many fields, including, but not limited to, medicine, law, journalism, architecture, scientific research, physical therapy, business, politics, nursing, criminal justice, pharmacology, marketing and advertising, veterinary medicine, and ecology.
The requirements of the internship class include: a minimum of 86 hours working with the mentor, attendance at evening seminars, written assignments including a take-home final, and a presentation at the end of the semester, Evening of Reporting.
The purpose of the monthly seminars is to offer further career exploration, to introduce students to intellectual and cultural members of the northern Nevada community, and to open students’ eyes to pursuits and concepts they might not have otherwise considered.
Field trips are held twice yearly. In the fall, students are invited to travel to Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In the spring, field trips rotate among various locations usually in California. Over the years, we have traveled to the Monterey Bay, San Francisco, the Gold Country, and Sacramento/Davis. Our goal for the field trips is to provide a framework of peer interactions that can be critically important throughout high school, as well as to enhance the four major criteria in language arts standards (reading, writing, speaking and listening) spelled out by the Nevada Department of Education.
Additionally, the GATE program helps coordinate participation and sponsorship in the Northern California-Western Nevada Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)along with the research offices of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; University of Nevada, Reno; UC Berkeley; UC Davis; California State University, Monterey Bay; Washoe County School District; and Nevada Science Fair.
GATE also coordinates the Washoe County School District’s Academic Olympics. Every WCSD high school participates in team academic competition in English, history, geography, fine arts, mathematics, physical science, life science, government and economics each spring.
Advanced placement (AP) courses, for which students may earn college credit, and honors classes are offered to create additional opportunities for intellectual/academic growth. Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) High School and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Wooster High School also offer further opportunities for gifted and highly motivated students.
High School Internship Class (.5 credit)
Teacher for: DAMONTE RANCH, GALENA, HUG, RENO, NORTH VALLEYS, TMCC HS
Mrs. Lyndi Cooper-Schroeder phone: 850-8049 fax: 850-8044
Teacher for: AACT, INCLINE, MCQUEEN, REED, SPANISH SPRINGS, SPARKS, WOOSTER
Mrs. Melissa LiCon phone: 850-8021 fax: 850-8044
Physical and mailing address for Internship Teachers
GATE Secondary Office at the Brown Center
14101 Old Virginia Road Room 4
Reno, Nevada 89521
Fax (775) 850-8044
