TeenHQ Civic Studio Applications Are Open!

What is TeenHQ Civic Studio?

TeenHQ Civic Studio is a year-long program that hosts three groups of teens ages 15-18 as they create innovative, informative pieces on civic life and engagement.

Apply Today!

Apply between Monday, November 2nd, starting at 9 AM, and Sunday, November 22nd, at 11:59 PM.

Benefits of Participating in TeenHQ Civic Studio

Teens will learn about civic life in San José and how to share it with their community in a creative, informative way. To assist teens with this process, they will receive:

• A financial stipend of $400, paid upon completion of the program
• Up to $300 in funding for equipment, supplies, and other necessary items to complete their civic research, documentation, and development of their piece
• Support from a TeenHQ Librarian in research, documentation, and development of their piece
• Recognition at the December 2027 Showcase

Teens will keep all equipment, supplies, and other items purchased with their $300 budget upon completing the program.

What Innovative and Informative Pieces Are We Talking About?

This program gives you total creative freedom to make whatever you want. The only rule? Your work needs to spark a conversation and get other teens hyped about civic life and shaping their community.

Here are some interesting potential ideas:

• A comic series on the importance of park cleanups
• A documentary on the effectiveness of public transit for teens
• A role-playing game on completing jury duty
• A vision board on what the next 50 years would look like if issues of today were fixed
• An interactive kiosk that covers one or more civic topics

Each piece created will need to include:

• A placard (like at a museum) that briefly explains the piece to others
• A more detailed write-up about the piece that includes a bibliography and resources related to the piece

Each piece should be reproducible, with a copy made available for use and inclusion in San José Public Library's Collections. Accepted individuals will be required to complete a Photo/Video & Creative Works Release Form.

What You'll Do

Accepted applicants will be expected to:

• Complete the City of San José Civics Master Class,
• Participate in in-person programming where they learn about civic life and creative, informative processes and documentation,
• Develop a project management plan to research, budget, document, and develop their piece, and
• Present their piece at the December 2027 Showcase.

Wednesday Evening Learning Sessions

All teens accepted into the program are expected to attend in-person meetings at the Dr. King Library on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-7:45 PM for the length of the cohort.

Learning Sessions will cover:

• Civic Engagement Topics
• Civic Research & Documentation
• Project Planning & Implementation Strategies
• Supply & Budget Development
• Accessibility Training Relating to their Piece Medium

How to Apply

Teens interested in TeenHQ Civic Studio must do the following:

• Apply between Monday, November 2nd, starting at 9 AM, and Sunday, November 22nd, at 11:59 PM.
• Provide basic information, including name, age, school, grade, contact information, and zip code.
• Respond to a three-part question set as either an essay or video submission:
  1. What does civic life mean to you? How have you practiced civic life in the past? How do you plan to practice civic life in the future?
  2. Tell us about a time you shared a story, idea, or something you know with other people in a creative way. It could be art, video, music, writing, a social media post, performing, or teaching someone.
  3. What excites or interests you about participating in this program?
• Essay must not exceed 3,500 characters (including spaces & punctuation).
• Videos must not exceed five minutes in length and be shared as an unlisted (not private) URL.
• Provide the name and contact information for an adult personal reference.
• Confirm commitment to a December 8th or 9th applicant virtual interview date, in-person learning events, the December 2027 Showcase date, and other program requirements.

Apply Today!

Timeline: Cohort One

More About TeenHQ Civic Studio and FAQs

This program is made possible with grant funding and support from the Urban Library Council.

The first cohort, scheduled for January to February 2027, is a pilot program. Other cohorts, scheduled for May to November 2027, may have different requirements. Please check back for further details about later cohorts.

Why must an applicant be 15-18 years of age?

Grant funding requires the program to focus on those ages 15-18.

How many teens will be accepted? 

During the first cohort, January-February 2027, we can accept up to four teens. The second and third cohorts, later in 2027, we anticipate being able to accept up to eight teens for each. 

More Questions?

Please email Jessica Lundin, TeenHQ Librarian, at jessica.lundin@sjlibrary.org.