Design Your Future
As a paid policy design intern with
Education Design Lab
$1,000 for 25 hours
Ages 14–24
Washington + Montana + Maine
Fall 2026
No experience needed
Are you a young person living in Washington, Montana, or Maine who wants to help shape how young people are able to explore their interests and connect to the career / future opportunities that matter to them?
Too many decisions about young people are made without young people at the table. This internship is changing that. This Summer and Fall, we're recruiting 10 young people in three states —Maine, Montana, and Washington— to help build a real youth career readiness plan that will land in the hands of state leaders by December 2026. Your voice, ideas, and experiences will help shape the future of school, learning, and work opportunities in your home state, and redesign how decisions about young people are made.
Education Design Lab and our state partners are seeking 10 young people per state, ages 14-24, to join us as paid designers. In this role, you'll help design a youth career readiness plan and a youth engagement strategy for your state, ensuring young people have a real voice in decisions that affect their futures. No experience necessary!
Washington
Hosted by Education Design Lab
+ Washington STEM in partnership with Washington Youth Alliance
Opportunity to contribute learning experiences towards a credential.
Montana
Hosted by Education Design Lab
+ Reach Higher Montana
Opportunity to contribute learning experiences towards a credential.
Maine
Hosted by Education Design Lab
+ JMG
Opportunity to contribute learning experiences towards a credential or micro-credential from GenUS’s Competency to Credential Framework.
With workshops and support from
National Collaborative for Transformative Youth Policy │ Kenzie Kate Floyd │ Washington Youth Alliance
What You’ll Do
This internship will have you work in a team of 10 young people from your state to create a youth career readiness plan for your home state. A career readiness plan is a plan to better connect young people with the resources, skills, and support they need to meet the career / future goals they have for themselves. We will share the policy priorities and the plan we identify with state leaders in December 2026 - January 2027.
No prior experience in policy or advocacy is required, just curiosity, ideas, and a willingness to share your perspective.
You will:
Share your experiences and ideas about school, careers, and the future
Review and analyze data and research
Identify policy priorities for your state
Practice skills in documentation and photography, policy, and advocacy
Collaborate with government, schools, employers
Meet virtually twice a month and meet one time in-person in your home state
You also have the opportunity to:
Design materials and presentations
Share your story locally, across the state, and nationally
Facilitate discussions and support in hosting design sessions that bring people from across your state together
Contribute to the completion of a credential you’re already working towards
Skills you’ll practice:
Data literacy, capacity, and use
Advocacy
Communication and storytelling
Documentation
Relationship building
Time management
Collaboration
Human-centered design
Research and synthesis
Each intern will be paid $1000 total for about 25 hours of work, which is about $40 / hour. We’ll pay $500 at the start of the internship and $500 at the end.
This payment does not include travel costs– we will cover those for you separately!
Who Should Apply
No experience necessary!
We welcome applicants who:
Are 14 - 24 years old and currently living in Washington state, Montana, or Maine
If you are 13 but going to turn 14 before the end of the year, you are welcome to apply
Want to learn about careers, education, human-centered design, systems change, policy, and/or advocacy
Are curious and not afraid to ask questions or working on being more confident
Are creative and interested in looking at research, data, experiences from new perspectives
We strongly encourage young people who are out of school or have dropped out of school, and young people who are from rural communities, communities of color, tribal members, first-generation, a part of the foster system, immigrants or refugees to the U.S., LGBTQ+ to apply. We welcome all young people who have not always felt heard in school or like school hasn’t been made for them.
This internship will cover a total of 25 hours, with the potential for opportunities to connect and continue outside of the internship. You may miss up to 2 sessions total. All sessions are held virtually via Zoom unless otherwise stated. All sessions with a highlight will be held with other state teams.
Internship Schedule
Washington
All times shared for Washington are in your local time zone! (PT)
Tues / September 15
3-5pm
Kickoff
Thurs / September 17
3-5pm
Photo + Documentation Workshop
Wed / September 30
4-6pm
Washington Design Session
Wed / October 7
3-5pm
Policy 101 Workshop
Wed/ October 28
4-6pm
Washington Design Session
Wed / November 4
3-5pm
Advocacy Workshop
Tues / November 24
4-6pm
Washington Design Session
Thurs / December 3
All Day
In-Person Design Session in Seattle, WA
Wed / December 9
3-5pm
Celebrate + Closing
Montana
All times shared for Montana are in your local time zone! (MT)
Wed / August 26
4-6pm
Kickoff
Wed / September 9
4-6pm
Photo + Documentation Workshop
Wed / September 23
4-6pm
Montana Design Session
Wed / October 7
4-6pm
Policy 101 Workshop
Wed / October 21
4-6pm
Montana Design Session
Wed / November 4
4-6pm
Advocacy Workshop
Tues / November 10
4-6pm
Montana Design Session
Fri / November 13
All Day
In-Person Design Session
Location TBD
Wed / December 9
4-6pm
Celebrate + Closing
Maine
All times shared for Maine are in your local time zone! (ET)
Tues / September 15
6-8pm
Kickoff
Thurs / September 17
6-8pm
Photo + Documentation Workshop
Wed / September 23
6-8pm
Maine Design Session
Wed / October 7
6-8pm
Policy 101 Workshop
Thurs / October 15
6-8pm
Maine Design Session
Wed / November 4
6-8pm
Advocacy Workshop
Thurs / November 12
6-8pm
Maine Design Session
Thurs / November 19
All Day
In-Person Design Session
Location TBD
Wed / December 9
6-8pm
Celebrate + Closing
Apply
Fill out the form below. The last question in the form will ask you to upload a document. Follow the below directions for what to upload.
Choose ONE format:
Video: max of 5 minutes, filmed on any device. Film wherever you're comfortable.
OR
Written: 300–600 words, any format (Google Doc, Word, PDF).
Answer all five prompts:
Tell us about you, your educational journey, and the lived experiences that have made you who you are.
What is something that is unique about where you're from?
Tell us about a time you noticed something wasn't working related to education and/or jobs, and what you wish had happened instead.
This could be about you, about someone you know, or about young people in your community.What do you want to get out of this internship, and what do you want to contribute?
What are you hoping will change around school, work, and/or opportunities in your state because of the work we’ll do together?
Questions + Answers
What is design?
Design is making decisions and solving problems. We all do this! For this internship, this would look like working to create ideas and a plan for young people in your state to better be able to get the opportunities they want.
What is career readiness and where is it seen in everyday lives?
Career readiness is everywhere! It is the act of making sure people can get the job they want and reach their goals. This can be found in apprenticeships, internships, certifications earned through classes and courses and more.
What is a design session?
A design session is a workshop where we’ll work together to make decisions and brainstorm ideas.
How will the skills developed in this internship help me in the future?
The skills you gain such as communication, collaboration, research, leadership, public speaking, storytelling, and design thinking, will help prepare you for college, careers, internships, scholarships, and future leadership opportunities.
Will I get to work with interns from other states?
Yes! Kickoff, closing, and the three workshops will be with all interns together.
Will I have to do work outside of the meeting times?
No! This will be optional, but not required.
Will this opportunity be offered again?
This is the first time we’re testing this program. Our goal is for this opportunity to continue in each state.
I saw an earlier deadline of August 16 for Maine and Washington. Did it change?
Yes! We extended each state’s application deadline. For Maine and Washington, we shifted the start date to September 15 so more young people have time to apply as the school year gets going. If you already applied, your application is in. You do not need to do anything else.
I saw that the max age changed from 20 to 24. How come?
We have extended the age range to be able to offer this opportunity to more young people who have dropped out of school and started working (aka if you didn’t finish high school or didn’t finish college).
Ages 14-24, currently living in Washington, Montana, or Maine; no experience necessary; must be able to attend virtual sessions and one in-person design session in home state.
Key Responsibilities
- designing career readiness plans
- analyzing data and research
- identifying policy priorities
Skills & Tools
Zoom
Job Details
- Category: Education services
- Seniority: No Prior Experience Required
- Commitment: Internship
- Workplace: Remote — Washington or Montana or Maine
- Salary: USD 1,000 – 1,000 / year
- Languages: English
About Education Design Lab
An education design organization that partners with states to create youth career readiness plans. — Industry: Education