<p>I am a high school sophomore (rising junior this year) planning to take an unpaid internship at Capitol Hill this summer. Does anyone know if there's any internship opportunities where I can do research on international relations? I am really interested in the Middle East conflicts. I just couldn't find one for high school juniors. Brookings institution, CSIS, CATO, they all accept college students only. Thanks.</p>
<p>There out to be an FAQ about internships and high school students, particularly for the high-profile places like DC and NYC.</p>
<p>In terms of both skill set and assumed maturity, as a high school student you’re at the absolute bottom of the food chain. Getting any internship, let alone something like a high-profile IR-centered one, would be a major accomplishment.</p>
<p>You’re at the back of the queue behind recent grads, grad students, college upper-classmen, and college lower-classmen.
If you have a connection to your local Congressperson’s office, that’s probably your best bet. You’ll probably be sorting mail and the like, doing completely unglamorous stuff. But keep your eyes and ears open, your mouth shut, and display a terrific work ethic so that you can get recs for better internships later, it would be worth it. </p>
<p>Note: a depressing number of interns who get their internships via connections seem to use the opportunity as one to party and explore DC for a summer. Bad idea.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>