Bakersfield native Andres Burgos, the Associate Director of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), delivered a guest lecture regarding the HACU National Internship Program (HNIP) in the Renegade Event Center on Monday, Oct. 9. The event was hosted by the MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) program.

According to Burgos, HACU’s mission is to “focus on advocacy and getting resources for students that attend HSI’s (Hispanic Serving Institutions).”

One of the primary ways in which this is achieved is through HNIP, which gives students the opportunity to intern with different government agencies. Burgos toted, that their internships are “extremely unique opportunities” where students do “significant” and “real time work.”

Internship durations of 15-week are offered during the fall and spring seasons, with a 10-week internship occurring during the summer. Additionally full-time, part-time, and remote positions are all available to best fit a students’ schedule, and all internships pay $17 per hour.

Internship opportunities can be local or even require temporary relocation to Washington DC, however HNIP does help to pay for travel and living arrangements.

Burgos shared that his team treats everyone like they are first generation students, because there are a lot of firsts for the student throughout the process, like traveling, being in a professional environment, creating a resume, and interning for the first time, which can all be challenging.

Ritik Kumar, peer-mentor for MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) the organizers of the event, stated that, “MESA hosts these events to encourage students to apply” and emphasizes the importance of “students to get these kinds of exposures especially in STEM.”

The HNIP application opens for the summer session on November 17; it does not require a GPA to be input and is open to all majors.