The Bronfman Fellowship
A highly selective national fellowship for 26 intellectually curious Jewish 11th-graders each year, centered on pluralistic Jewish text study and cross-cultural dialogue with a parallel group of Israeli peers. Fellows attend a free immersive summer program in Israel and the U.S., then continue with monthly virtual sessions and winter/spring seminars through 12th grade.
You might also like
United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP)
The United States Senate Youth Program sends two student delegates from every state to a fully-funded Washington Week of briefings with U.S. senators, cabinet officials, and military and judicial leaders. Delegates must be nominated by their high school principal based on demonstrated leadership in student government or civic organizations, and each receives a $10,000 college scholarship.
American Legion California Boys & Girls State
American Legion California Boys & Girls State is a weeklong, coeducational hands-on civics program where rising seniors build and run mock city, county, and state governments, campaign for office, and pass legislation. The 87th session runs June 20-27, 2026 at California State University, Sacramento.
Berkeley M.E.T. Innovation Academy
A selective residential summer program at UC Berkeley for rising high school juniors and seniors interested in technology and entrepreneurship, combining hands-on engineering projects with business and innovation training led by Berkeley's College of Engineering and Haas School of Business.
BizWorld Young Entrepreneur Success (YES!) Program
A free 10-12 week mentorship program from BizWorld for young entrepreneurs ages 16-22 with an early-stage business idea or venture. Participants receive one-on-one mentorship from industry professionals, networking opportunities, and access to funding resources; past cohorts have generated over $3 million in combined revenue.
HealthLink at UCSF
A free, year-long mentorship program pairing first-generation, college-bound Bay Area high schoolers (sophomores preferred) with UCSF graduate student mentors from Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Physical Therapy, and Medicine, through monthly Saturday workshops and one-on-one mentoring.
SIREN Youth Leadership Internship
A paid year-long internship with SIREN (Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network) in which youth ages 16-25 organize alongside immigrant and refugee communities in the Bay Area (San Jose) or Central Valley (Fresno), building leadership and community-organizing skills. Interns support SIREN's Youth Leadership Institute programming and civic engagement campaigns.