Prepping the Future Workforce: ASPIRE’s High School Internships

What should I study? What career do I want to pursue? 

These questions plague high school and college students alike, yet they’re difficult to answer without hands-on experiences within possible fields of study. And trying to answer this question while already taking courses and paying tuition can be time-consuming and expensive. 

To address this gap, ASPIRE offers high school internships — like one this spring that allowed Mountain Crest High School senior Jesse Peterson to experience what it looks like to be a software engineer first-hand. These internships are a part of the Cache Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) that connect high school juniors and seniors to industry internships. 

“A huge advantage you have starting in this kind of position in high school, K through 12, as opposed to university, is you haven’t really picked a direction yet. There’s no one locking you into what you want to do,” explained ASPIRE Software Engineer Clayton Montgomery, who mentored the intern. “So it gives you an opportunity to explore a really cool environment, a cool career path, without having to spend, you know, 18 credits a semester and try to figure out what you’re passionate about. If you can get ahead of that, that just puts you so much closer to mastery.” 

Peterson had the opportunity to work with the software team to improve CARLA, a roadway simulator that can be used to simulate existing real-world transportation environments. 

“My favorite project to work on was the CARLA simulator and working in Unreal Engine and Blender to get models into it,” he shared. “My part on the CARLA project was to get 3D models of the UTA electric buses in, and to get more maps and a feature to launch the program more seamlessly with more options to change.” 

This opportunity allowed Peterson to learn firsthand the type of real-world problems that software engineers working on electrification are solving. More hands-on internships will be beneficial to the workforce, according to software engineer Max Ramsdell, who also served as a mentor to Peterson. 

“For Jesse, it was a great work experience. For the broader workforce, it’s better. It gets people in actual roles where they learn what the role is like instead of what we’re taught it’s supposed to be like,” Ramsdell said. “I think for high schoolers, it’s super important because you don’t know what you’re doing until you’ve done it.” 

Montgomery added that these opportunities will be essential to prepare the workforce for an innovative future. 

“As we move towards the future, just generally, you’re going to need people that have hands-on experience developing these new things,” he explained. “I would argue that a high school intern is definitely the right time to get somebody plugged into these things and start messing around with them and being creative with what’s there.” 

For the latest news, publications, and research highlights from ASPIRE, visit aspire.usu.edu. 

About ASPIRE: 

ASPIRE, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center headquartered at Utah State University, leads groundbreaking research and development at the transportation-grid edge. With over 400 global collaborators, ASPIRE focuses on creating seamless, affordable electrified transportation systems, accessible for all vehicle classes, along with the public infrastructure needed to support them. By reducing costs, improving air quality, and fostering economic growth through job creation and workforce training, ASPIRE’s work spans engineering, social science, policy, and business. Partnering with top universities, industry leaders, and community groups, ASPIRE is driving the future of advanced transportation-grid systems. Learn more at aspire.usu.edu. 

Contacts: 

Kat Webb
Content Director
Marketing & Communications 
ASPIRE ERC  

Writer: 

Kayleigh Kearsley 
Marketing & Communications Intern 
ASPIRE ERC