Four Coronado High School students completed an eight-week AI research internship, building independent projects on tree canopy temperatures, cardiovascular disease and data science.
Seniors Leslee Avalos and Carly DeVore, junior Sonali Menghani and sophomore Danielle-Elizabeth Mensah-Baah were selected for the Renaissance Experiential Learning program after their computer science teacher, Claudio Salas, recommended them, the Coronado Times reported on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
The program targets high school juniors and seniors, pairing them with industry mentors to develop skills in Python coding and artificial intelligence. Each intern carried out a data-driven research project tied to a personal interest. Mensah-Baah's selection as a sophomore stood out.
How they were selected
Kristen Caputo, College and Career Pathways coordinator at Coronado High, said applicants submitted resumes highlighting computer science projects they had already completed, wrote an essay and sat for a panel interview by video call.
"The application process mimicked a job interview," Caputo said.
What they built
DeVore investigated how tree canopy coverage affects surface land temperatures. She plans to study geo and environmental sciences.
"Even though the work was grounded in computer science, the subject directly applied to my career path," DeVore said. "We used AI to help write and troubleshoot our project code."
Mensah-Baah, who hopes to become a cardiovascular surgeon, analyzed environmental risk factors influencing sex differences in cardiovascular disease mortality. She said AI tools let her analyze large data sets in seconds rather than spending weeks on manual analysis.
Menghani, who is interested in data science and machine learning, focused on data extraction, modeling and visualization using Python. She said the experience taught her to build data models and create visual results.
Avalos also completed the program. Her specific project topic was not detailed in the Coronado Times report.
Computer science pathway
The Computer Science pathway is one of five Career Technical Education, or CTE, pathways at Coronado High, according to school records. The others are Engineering, Biomedical Innovations, Sports Medicine and Woodworking.
Caputo said the pathway's emphasis on iterative design and Design Thinking prepared the four interns to work independently with mentors and deepen their AI skills. The internship guided students from an initial hypothesis through final data presentation.
The four students return to Coronado High's Computer Science pathway for the 2026–27 school year.
