Every spring and summer, The Media Academy offers students the opportunity to apply for internships at local business sites where they can learn employment skills, practice journalism and earn money. Sites vary from the City Of Oakland, KTVU-TV, The Examiner, AC Transit, The Center for the Integration and Improvement of Journalism, The Freedom Forum and many more.
The internships give the students hands-on experience in professional fields. Each intern has a work site mentor. Interns learn many skills that vary from job to job. For example, one intern who worked at Whole Earth Networks in San Francisco learned to create web pages and is currently working on the web site for the Media Academy at Fremont High School.
Spring internships are offered to seniors with at least a 2.0 grade point average and at least 80 percent attendance. Summer internships are offered to juniors who also have to meet the same requirements. Internships that are not taken by juniors are offered to sophomores. Students also receive a stipend. The spring program runs from March through June and the summer program runs from July until August. Students are given a reflection guide. The guide contains things such as job shadowing, service learning, and a reflective journal. The students keep track of their daily duties in the journal.
In the end students have met many new friends and professionals in the media field. Internships offer students a taste of the real world and teach lessons in responsibility, and for those who do exceptionally well, the chance they will be hired.