Internships

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Explore Your Interests. Develop Your Skills. Connect Learning With Purpose.

 

ASI is developing a Maritime Heritage & Nonprofit Leadership Internship Program that would connect classroom learning with practical projects in history, culture, technology, communications, and nonprofit service.

 

Our vision is to create a supervised learning environment where students can investigate meaningful questions, work with experienced mentors, and produce something they can take pride in sharing.

 

A student does not need to plan a career at sea to find a place in this initiative. Maritime heritage connects with engineering, business, journalism, languages, education, photography, and many other fields.

 

The internship program is pending development. ASI is not yet accepting formal applications or confirming placements, academic credit, compensation, or a start date.

 

Education at the Center

The proposed program will be designed around what students learn—not simply the tasks an organization needs completed.

 

Each placement would have defined learning objectives, an appropriate mentor, a manageable project, and opportunities for feedback and reflection.

 

Students would be encouraged to ask questions, investigate sources, explain their reasoning, and connect their work with the communities and histories it represents.

 

Through 360-DEEP™, participants would examine subjects from multiple perspectives, distinguish evidence from assumptions, and remain open to revising conclusions as new information emerges.

 

Proposed Learning Pathways

Maritime Heritage & Historical Research

 

Explore the people, vessels, migrations, and traditions that connect Rhode Island with Portugal, Cape Verde, and the Atlantic islands.

 

Possible projects include archival research, photograph identification, oral-history transcription, source comparisons, and a short historical exhibit or research presentation.

 

Nonprofit Leadership & Administration

Discover how a charitable organization plans projects, maintains records, communicates its mission, and accounts for its work.

 

Possible projects include developing a project timeline, researching funding opportunities, organizing nonconfidential records, or preparing an administrative resource. Students would learn about accountability and governance without being assigned independent authority over funds, contracts, or confidential organizational matters.

 

Digital Media & Communications

Develop practical skills in storytelling, photography, video, graphic design, and website content.

 

Possible projects include a captioned educational video, a website page draft, a photographic essay, or a communications plan. Work would include attention to accuracy, accessibility, consent, and copyright.

 

Marine Technology & Vessel Documentation

Explore the science and engineering behind S/V American Saudade and its developing refit.

 

Possible projects include documenting vessel systems, researching equipment, preparing an illustrated technical explanation, or organizing an approved inventory. The SubSafe to SailSafe initiative would provide a framework for learning about inspection, maintenance, reliability, and emergency preparedness.

 

Participation would begin with suitable observation, research, and documentation. Hands-on activities would require separate approval, supervision, and safety review.

 

Education & Community Outreach

Learn how research becomes useful educational material.

 

Possible projects include a lesson resource, presentation, exhibit guide, or activity connecting maritime history with science, geography, culture, or community life.

 

International Heritage & Cultural Connections

Explore the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde through geography, language, migration, and maritime relationships.

 

Possible projects include a regional research profile, translated captions, a heritage-route presentation, or a comparison of cultural and historical sources. Any communication with outside institutions would be coordinated through ASI and approved supervisors.

 

A Project to Carry Forward

Each participant would work toward a tangible outcome: a research paper, video, website contribution, presentation, historical display, or documented technical project.

 

Where permissions allow, students could include their work in a personal portfolio. Publication by ASI would require review and an agreement covering credit, ownership or licensing, and permitted uses. The aim is for students to leave with more than completed hours—with stronger skills, greater confidence, and evidence of what they learned.

 

Start Small and Learn Carefully

ASI’s proposed first step is a pilot involving approximately two to four students, subject to readiness and appropriate arrangements. A small pilot would allow us to assess mentoring capacity, scheduling, project quality, safety procedures, and student feedback before expanding.

 

Future participation could include high-school students, college students, and learners from other educational institutions. Eligibility and selection criteria will be developed before recruitment begins.

 

School and Institutional Relationships

ASI hopes to explore collaboration with East Providence High School and other educational institutions.

These discussions would help determine whether the proposed projects could support service learning, work-based learning, or other recognized educational experiences.

 

No school partnership is confirmed through this announcement. Academic credit, school recognition, and placement requirements would be determined by the participating institution.

Educators are welcome to help shape the program’s learning objectives, mentoring practices, and evaluation methods.

 

A Longer-Term Goal: Funded Opportunities

ASI intends to investigate funding that could support paid internships in the future, including education grants, workforce-development programs, foundations, and appropriate sponsorships.

 

Paid opportunities would depend on funding, eligibility, administrative capacity, and compliance requirements.

Any future unpaid educational or volunteer placement would be assessed separately and clearly described before participation. It would not carry a promise of later paid employment.

 

What Must Be Ready Before Launch

 

Responsible preparation is essential. ASI’s development priorities include:

• Educational leadership and qualified mentors

• Written learning objectives and role descriptions

• School coordination where applicable

• Review of paid, unpaid, and volunteer arrangements

• Insurance appropriate to the participants and activities

• Parent or guardian consent for minors

• Youth-protection and adult-screening procedures

• Safe meeting locations and supervision arrangements

• Emergency contacts and incident-reporting procedures

• Clear permitted and prohibited activities

• Privacy, media-consent, and intellectual-property arrangements

• Project assessment and student feedback

• A realistic budget and manageable pilot schedule

 

These are prerequisites to address, rather than assurances that every arrangement is already in place.

Learning Safely Around the Vessel

 

The vessel can provide valuable examples of engineering and practical problem-solving, but it also presents hazards requiring specific controls.

 

Office-based research and media work, supervised vessel observation, and hands-on maintenance will be evaluated separately. Access aboard a vessel stored on land also requires safe boarding arrangements and supervision.

 

Hazardous machinery, electrical work, chemicals, heights, confined spaces, lifting, and rigging will not be treated as routine student assignments. Activities prohibited for a participant’s age or reserved for qualified professionals will remain outside that placement.

 

An internship would not automatically include sailing, sea trials, offshore travel, or a crew position.

 

Respect, Privacy, and Participation

ASI intends to provide a respectful learning environment with a designated supervisor and a clear way to raise concerns.

 

Students would be expected to follow agreed procedures, protect confidential information, credit sources, and treat others courteously.

 

Participation would not automatically authorize ASI to use a student’s image or personal story in publicity.

 

Appropriate permissions would be arranged separately.

 

Accessibility needs and reasonable participation arrangements would be discussed during placement planning.

 

Help Shape the Initiative

 

During development, ASI welcomes expressions of interest from educators, schools, mentors, maritime professionals, researchers, and organizations experienced in youth learning.

 

Students and families may also contact ASI to express general interest and receive future updates. An inquiry does not constitute an application or guarantee a place.

 

Please begin with a brief description of your interests or expertise. Do not send sensitive student records, identification documents, or medical information through an initial inquiry.

 

ACTA NON VERBA

Deeds, Not Words.

 

Education grows stronger when inquiry leads to a carefully designed project, supported by mentorship and reflection.

 

ASI hopes to create opportunities where students can preserve a story, explain a system, develop a skill, and see how their contribution connects with a larger purpose.

 

Learn from the past. Build skills in the present. Prepare to contribute to the future.

 

Explore Related Programs

• NAV 360 — Naval history, marine science, engineering, and the Merchant Marine.

• 360-DEEP™ — Inquiry through competing perspectives, sources, and evidence.

• Maritime Heritage — The people and traditions of the Atlantic world.

• Family Albums — Photographs, family memories, and cultural preservation.

• S/V American Saudade Refit — Vessel preparation as an educational project.

• SubSafe to SailSafe — Inspection, reliability, and preparedness.

• E-Library — Developing research and reference resources.

• Volunteering — Other ways to contribute skills and experience.

• Partnerships — Potential educational and institutional collaboration.

• Contact Us — Express interest or help shape the initiative.