Become a recurring donor this month, and we’ll send you stickers!

GIVE TODAY

The Burmese American Community Institute is accepting applications for its Upward College Summer Scholars Program to help prepare high school students for higher education.

During the 8-to-10-week research project, students will produce academic papers that present research findings related to social justice issues, as well as solutions and policy recommendations. Each student will receive a stipend while also improving writing, critical thinking and leadership skills. 

The online application deadline for the 2026 BACI Upward College Summer Scholars Program is May 13. Finalists will be selected for an interview on a first-come, first-served basis and selected participants will be notified in May. 

Participants will begin June 1 and are expected to present their research findings in August.

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

Mirror Indy reporter Elizabeth Gabriel covers the south side of Marion County. Contact her at elizabeth.gabriel@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X at @_elizabethgabs.

Close window

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.

High schoolers: Get paid to research social justice issues this summer

by Elizabeth Gabriel, Mirror Indy
April 3, 2026

<h1>High schoolers: Get paid to research social justice issues this summer</h1> <p class="byline">by Elizabeth Gabriel, Mirror Indy <br />April 3, 2026</p> <p>The <a href="https://thebaci.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Burmese American Community Institute</a> is accepting applications for its Upward College Summer Scholars Program to help prepare high school students for higher education.</p> <p>During the 8-to-10-week research project, students will produce academic papers that present research findings related to social justice issues, as well as solutions and policy recommendations. Each student will receive a stipend while also improving writing, critical thinking and leadership skills.&nbsp;</p> <p>The <a href="https://thebaci.org/2026/03/06/application-for-2026-baci-upward-college-summer-scholars-program-released/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExdjNoaDdFR0lobDF5YjJHNXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4EJcVchwZQuJlGWahD0AyZL3vEUL3To3hY9oBraPjxbIQDc3RjZ2H_dbdzqg_aem_9muHaeJi6-DXcmwXh99Plw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">online application</a> deadline for the 2026 BACI Upward College Summer Scholars Program is May 13. Finalists will be selected for an interview on a first-come, first-served basis and selected participants will be notified in May. </p> <p>Participants will begin June 1 and are expected to present their research findings in August.</p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/high-school-paid-research-program-burmese-american-community-institute/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org&quot;&gt;Mirror Indy&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-Mirror-Indy-square-logo-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=76799&amp;amp;ga4=G-X0R0QW371R&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mirrorindy.org/high-school-paid-research-program-burmese-american-community-institute/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mirrorindy.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

Copy to Clipboard

1