A New Year of Student Leadership in Modesto City Schools

Join us in welcoming the 2025-2026 intern cohort in Modesto City Schools (MCS), whose diverse skillset and profound dedication to benefiting their school and community will serve both the CAPS program and the entire Modesto community. We are excited to support these student leaders as they kick off a year of exploration, education, and community leadership. 

Thanks to enthusiastic word-of-mouth from past interns, teachers, and career coordinators, this year the Modesto internship program received more than 170 applications for just 20 available openings. This tremendous interest highlights the community's recognition of our program as a meaningful pathway for students to learn, explore new career options, and make tangible contributions to a climate-resilient school community.

We want to congratulate every CAPS intern who was selected, celebrate the talent and passion of every student who applied, and thank the entire MCS community for embracing the CAPS program. We look forward to expanding our work together in the years to come. 

Meet the Modesto Interns: Diverse Talent with Proven Commitment

This year’s CAPS interns in Modesto bring a variety of skills that will benefit our program and partners, as well as their school and community. While the cohort is united by a profound dedication to both community service and environmental action, their background and career goals encompass a wide range of sustainability and community service areas. Some of these include:   

• Policy and Law: Interns aspiring to careers in Public Policy, Law, and Criminal Justice are focused on translating passion into civic action, with experience ranging from serving on the Modesto Youth Commission to working as an environmental policy fellow.

• Science and Engineering: Students planning careers in Civil and Nuclear Engineering, Environmental Sciences, and Public Health bring strong technical interests focused on sustainable infrastructure, energy efficiency, and resource management.

• Health and Human Services: Interns pursuing Medicine and Nursing make the connection between environmental health and community wellness. Many have experience volunteering at local hospitals and shelters.

• Proven Leadership and Community Skills: Our interns’ remarkable practical leadership experience includes founding nonprofits to combat local healthcare disparities, serving in major team captain roles, conducting paid research with institutions like Stanford, and dedicating hundreds of hours to community service. 

Fall Projects: Investing in Actionable Solutions 

Our Modesto interns will be advancing one of three interconnected projects, all working to advance tangible sustainability measures within Modesto City Schools. These real-world projects maximize hands-on learning while delivering measurable value to the district:

1. Saving Schools Energy: CAPS interns will learn to conduct ASHRAE level 3 energy audits, enabling them to help their schools lower their energy use and achieve direct, measurable cost savings. 

2. Engaging Fellow Students: Modesto interns will create a model for environmental clubs in elementary schools, with the goal of enhancing younger students’  climate literacy and ensuring a sustainable pipeline of future student leaders and activists.

3. Developing a Recycling Model for Schools: A student-led pilot of a recycling initiative at one elementary school will serve as a blueprint for expansion across the district.

Through these projects and more, the Modesto interns will have the opportunity to apply their durable skills and passions to make a real, tangible difference in their school district. 

We are actively seeking partners to expand our program in Modesto. Interested in partnering with us? Reach out to learn how you can help!