Serving San Mateo County youth
San Mateo County is full of internships, scholarships, jobs, and mentorship. But opportunities only matter when students can find, understand, and realistically access them.
Open right now in the directory: San Mateo County Youth Arts Fellowship 2026–2027.
Trusted by 30+ students across San Mateo County, from schools including
Every opportunity asks a student to make the same five-step journey
Find out the opportunity exists — before its deadline, not after.
Decode eligibility, cost, schedule, and what the program actually involves.
Pull together the application, the résumé, and a recommendation in time.
Actually get there, week after week — transportation, schedule, and all.
Turn one opportunity into mentors, referrals, and the next opportunity.
What actually stands between students and opportunity
“Can I find and understand the opportunity?”
Opportunity information in San Mateo County lives across many separate websites, offices, and organizations, each with its own format. A student who doesn't already know where to look can miss a deadline without ever knowing the program existed, and unclear eligibility language — sometimes only in English — filters out students before they even start.
“Do I have the knowledge and people to help me pursue it?”
Finding an opportunity is only the beginning. Students also need someone to explain what a program really involves, help with a résumé or interview, provide a referral, and — often most importantly — say "you should apply for this." Students whose schools, families, and networks include professionals get this support by default; others may get none of it.
“Can I realistically participate?”
Even a discovered, well-understood opportunity can be out of reach in practice. An unpaid internship competes with a paying job a family relies on. A program across the county is inaccessible without a car or a long transit ride. Fees, equipment, evening schedules, and caregiving responsibilities all quietly determine who can actually say yes.
Income, geography, language, school resources, family educational background, and other circumstances influence which students are most likely to encounter each barrier.
Interest is high, awareness is uneven, and access runs through relationships
79% interested — 34% aware
Interest far outpaces awareness
A national study found that 79% of surveyed high-school students were interested in completing an internship, but only 34% had heard about internship opportunities available to students their age.
National studyAmerican Student Assistance, 2020
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This is a national 2020 study, not San Mateo County data. Local awareness levels may differ.
60% expected help
choosing internships or work experiences
In a 2025 national ACT study, 60% of surveyed high-school students expected help choosing internships or work-based experiences.
National studyACT, 2025
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A 2025 national ACT study whose sample consisted of students registered for the ACT — a college-oriented group that may not represent all students.
63% via schools — 43% via referrals
How employers recruit high-school interns
Among employers in the high-school internship study that offered internships, 63% recruited through school-district relationships and 43% through employee referrals — both channels that depend on who a student knows.
Opportunities may be public in theory but relational in practice.
National studyAmerican Student Assistance, 2020
View original source(opens in new tab)
National employer data from 2020; it describes recruiting channels, not San Mateo County employers specifically.
These are national findings — not direct measurements of San Mateo County students. Read the full research summary.
Youth Opportunities Unified Navigation Gateway — one clear place to discover, compare, and get help acting
“The website helps students discover opportunities. Human support helps them act on those opportunities.”
Type anything — a place, a field, a program — and see what's out there
A research project powered by lived experience
We're students in San Mateo County, and we kept watching the same thing happen: the opportunities existed, but the students who got them were the ones who already knew where to look, who to ask, and how to get there.
The problem? Information scattered across a dozen websites, requirements written for adults, and programs that quietly assume you have a car, free afternoons, and someone at home who's done this before.
So we built YOUNG to test a simple idea: one clear front door, listings that all answer the same questions, and honest labels when something is uncertain. It started as a student research project — the gap it points at is real, and so is everything on this site.
A site you can check up on — and should
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Every listing links to the real provider. Applications never happen here.
Every statistic is cited, dated, and labeled national or local — sources included.
