Priority Deadline:

Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 11:59 PM PT.

Priority Applicant Interviews:

• Priority Applicants will be notified by December 5, 2023 if they’ve been rejected or selected to move onto the interview round.

• Priority Applicant interviews will take place in December 2023.

Priority Applicant Status Update:

Priority Applicants will be notified by Friday, December 22, 2023 if they have been accepted, waitlisted, or rejected.

Final Deadline:

Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at 11:59 PM PT.

Applicant Interviews:

• Applicants who’ve applied after the Priority Deadline will be notified by Friday, January 19, 2024 if they’ve been rejected or selected to move onto the interview round.

• Applicant interviews will take place in January 2024.

Applicant Status Update:

Applicants who’ve applied after the Priority Deadline will be notified by Friday, February 2, 2024 if they have been accepted, waitlisted, or rejected.

All applicants will be fully-considered for the internship program.

Applicants who apply by the priority deadline will receive priority consideration for the internship and be notified of their applicant status earlier.

Interns are required to adhere to the official program start and end dates. Alternate start/end dates may be considered for academic reasons, such as schools in quarter systems. If you need to request a different start/end date for the internship, please let us know within your application and we will determine on a case-by-case basis.

Interns who complete less than ten weeks of the internship program may have their stipends deducted.

The OCA Summer Internship Program is in-person. All interns will be required to relocate to Washington, D.C. for the duration of the internship program. It’s expected that most placement sites will be working in person or hybrid, but there may be some placement sites that are completely virtual.

OCA is unable to provide support with relocation.

We consider many factors when selecting our interns, including but not limited to:

• leadership potential and/or experience

• passion and/or involvement in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community

• volunteer, community service, and/or civic engagement experience

• political and social awareness

• personality and character fit

Applicants don’t need to have all three work, leadership, and community service experience. We understand everyone’s situation is unique and not everyone has the time nor resources to have all of these experiences. We are not looking for the best of the best, we are looking for people who can learn from this program and this experience, and who has the potential to make a positive impact to the AAPI community.

No. We require all applicants to have already completed their first year of college by the start of the internship program to be eligible for our internship program.

Yes! Many previous interns were those who were rejected before but reapplied later, or several times, before finally being accepted. A rejection does not mean you are not wanted in our program, most of the time it just means we simply didn’t have enough spots.

No. If you decide to not participate in the summer internship program in which you were admitted, you must submit a new application to reapply the next time applications open.

Yes, all interns will be required to relocate to Washington, D.C. for the duration of the internship program. Even if your placement site is working remotely, you are still required to be in D.C. to attend required OCA Summer Internship programming.

OCA is unable to provide support with relocation.

Yes, this internship is open to all identities as long as they are interested in AANPHI issues.

• Interns will receive a stipend of $5,250 for the ten-week internship program.

• The stipend is pre-tax, meaning interns will be required to file taxes on this income next tax filing season.

• On rare occasions, a placement site my choose to pay the OCA intern themselves instead of relying on OCA’s stipend. In such cases, the placement site must at minimum match the amount of OCA’s stipend.

• OCA summer interns cannot participate in other paid fellowship or internship programs at the same time as the OCA Summer Internship Program. If you will be participating in another paid program at the same time as OCA’s summer internship, please contact kent.tong@ocanational.org and exemptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.

• A scholarship or something similar from your school is allowed.

• Interns who do not complete ten (10) full weeks of the internship program will have their stipend reduced.

Yes, this would be in addition to the OCA Stipend. Be sure to check with your academic institution.

This all depends on where you’re placed, as well as the needs of your placement. In the past, interns have done a variety of tasks, including: communications work (graphic design, social media management, press releases), policy work (research, meetings on The Hill), advocacy organizing, logistics/event planning, managing databases, and misc. administrative tasks.

• There is a mandatory in-person orientation that is scheduled to take place the first week of the internship.

• Interns are required to attend weekly Friday “Sama Sama” sessions to discuss AANHPI issues, engage with guest speakers, participate in workshops, and more.

• Interns may be required to do short presentations on a topic of their choice to educate their fellow cohort members, to be presented during Sama Sama.

• Interns will participate in an APIA-U: Leadership training. APIA-U is a full-day leadership and advocacy training we provide for all college students in the DC area that consists of a series of workshops.

• Interns will work in a variety of roles, many that include manual labor and social networking, alongside OCA National Staff at the annual OCA National Convention.

• Interns will be split into groups and given training to meet with congressional offices for Advocacy Day. Each group will meet with their respective congressional representatives to advocate for AANHPI issues OCA is promoting.

• Interns will attend tentative programming that OCA co-hosts with partner organizations, including intern networking events.

• All interns are required to attend and work at the OCA National Convention.

• OCA National will cover all travel, meals, and lodging for interns at the National Convention.

• Each intern will share a double hotel room with one other intern cohort member.

• Interns will be required to attend certain sessions during the National Convention.

• Interns will be supporting OCA National staff in various roles and tasks, including providing logistical support, tech/AV support, moving equipment and supplies, set-up and breakdown, and other misc. tasks that may come up.

• An example schedule of the weekend for interns may look like:

  • Wed: Intern arrival to venue; move supplies; assemble conference swag bags; Hours vary on this day

  • Thurs: Interns Call time at 8AM; go to assigned stations (workshop rooms, registration, set-up for banquet); Lunch at 12PM; go to assigned stations (workshop rooms, registration, clean-up); Dinner Event at 6PM (interns will check tickets and help attendees into the room); Interns Dismissed at 9PM

  • Fri: Breakfast 7:30AM; go to assigned stations; Lunch at 12PM; go to assigned stations; Dinner Event at 6PM; Interns Dismissed at 9PM

  • Sat: Breakfast at 8AM; go to assigned stations; Lunch at 12PM; go to assigned stations; Awards Gala at 6PM; Interns Dismissed at 11PM

  • Sun: Clean and pack up supplies; travel back to DC

Some interns will be placed at OCA National, while most interns will be placed with external partners, which may include congressional offices, nonprofits, corporations, and more. The placements and types of internships vary year by year depending on the availability of the placements.

No, OCA interns will find out their placement a several weeks after their acceptance. Our placement partners change every year and depend on availability. While we do our best to match interns to their preferred fields/industries, we cannot guarantee interns will be placed at organizations that directly relate to their interests. However, our previous interns who were placed at unrelated organizations have still found the experience to be valuable and beneficial.

OCA interns will be able to state their placement preferences, but final placement decisions will be made by the OCA Internship Program Coordinator. If the OCA intern decides to decline their placement assignment, they will be dismissed from the internship program.

OCA summer interns cannot participate in other paid fellowship or paid internship programs at the same time as the OCA Summer Internship Program. If you will be participating in another paid program at the same time as OCA’s summer internship, please contact kent.tong@ocanational.org and exemptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.

OCA summer interns are allowed to work part-time jobs as long as they are still able to fulfill the program requirements of the OCA Summer Internship Program. Interns who are working at another job at the same time as the OCA Summer Internship Program must notify OCA’s internship program coordinator as soon as possible.

Yes, you can still be an OCA Summer Intern if you’ve already found your own placement to work at. However, you cannot receive payment from both internships. You will have to choose which one to be funded by. In addition, you must be able to participate in all of OCA’s required programming. There must be a written confirmation from your placement that they recognize you’ll need to be excused from work to attend OCA programming.

Yes, you can.

Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to provide housing for interns. However, we will provide each intern with a housing guide to make the transition as easy as possible.

Yes, we will notify specific candidates who are not accepted if they’d like to be on the waitlist.

OCA summer interns are not required to be vaccinated against Covid-19. However, there will be a face mask requirement at all OCA Summer Internship Programming.