NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Mercer County, NJ, September 17, 2026: Two New Jersey high school students who struggled to find internships designed for teenagers decided to create their own solution.
Abhiraj Kesari and Darren Oommen, longtime friends and high school sophomores in Mercer County, are the founders of MyIntern, a free platform that helps students find internships and prepare for the application process.
The idea began in November 2025, when Kesari, then 16, tried to create a LinkedIn account while looking for professional opportunities. He was unable to do so because of the platform’s age requirements. At the time, he was a sophomore at the Arthur R. Sypek Center in Mercer County.
Oommen, a sophomore at Hopewell Valley Regional High School, was running into a different version of the same problem. He spent hours searching Google for internships but found few opportunities suitable for high school students.
Many of the listings he came across were expired, led to dead links or appeared to be intended for older applicants.
Rather than continue searching through platforms that were not designed for students their age, the two friends began working on their own.
After about six months of designing and testing, they launched MyIntern in March 2026. The platform has since grown to more than 550 student users across New Jersey, according to information provided by the founders.
Making internships easier to find
MyIntern is designed to bring internship searches and application tools together in one place. The platform is free to students, carries no advertising and focuses on verified internship opportunities.
Students receive personalized internship recommendations based on their interests and backgrounds. A monthly list highlights opportunities with active deadlines, while an application tracker allows students to keep track of where they are in the process.
The platform also incorporates artificial intelligence tools. An AI resume builder reviews resumes in relation to a particular position, while a mock interview feature allows students to practice timed interviews and review video of their responses.
Kesari and Oommen say the features grew directly out of the difficulties they experienced while searching for opportunities themselves.
Getting the attention of New Jersey’s business community
The project has also begun attracting attention beyond its student users.
This fall, Kesari and Oommen presented MyIntern to the New Jersey Business & Industry Association’s Education and Workforce Development Policy Committee, which brings together employers and others involved in education and workforce issues in the state.
For the two teenagers, the growth of MyIntern represents an effort to address a problem they encountered firsthand: high school students may be eager to gain professional experience but often do not know where to find age-appropriate opportunities.
What began as two friends trying to find internships has now become a platform intended to make that search easier for hundreds of other New Jersey students.
Check out MyIntern here:
My Intern, #1 Free High School Internship Finder | Verified & Scam-Free
