“They gave me work, not busywork.”
I was skeptical because I had done several student programs where the experience sounded impressive but the work was superficial. With Allay, I was given a defined project and a person who actually expected me to deliver. I worked with a university-founded AI company on evaluating their product against competitors and presented the analysis to the team. The most valuable part was being able to explain exactly what I contributed.
Work thatholds up
when someone asks about it.
From students and parents across the network. Last names are shortened to protect the privacy of current students.
“I stopped trying to invent an impressive experience. Allay didn’t ask me to manufacture something from scratch. They matched me with an existing startup where there was already a real problem to solve. I ended up working on customer research and market analysis for a healthcare startup, presenting my findings directly to the founding team, and staying on through the following semester.”
“The match was much more specific than I expected.”
I told Allay I was interested in biotech but did not want a purely academic research experience. They introduced me to a project at the intersection of healthcare, commercialization, and scientific research. I spent the summer researching the competitive landscape for a therapeutic area and helped prepare materials for discussions with potential partners.
“I came in wanting finance experience. I left with an actual project.”
I knew I was interested in quantitative finance, but I had no idea what an appropriate opportunity for a high school student looked like. Allay matched a project to my mathematical background and connected me with a mentor in the industry. Having someone experienced enough to challenge my assumptions made it feel much closer to university research.
“The experience continued after the summer.”
My placement was supposed to last for the summer. By the end of it, I had become genuinely useful to the team, and we decided together that I would continue during the school year. Allay did not make that happen artificially. They gave me the introduction and the structure, and the relationship developed naturally because the work was meaningful.
“Allay understood that I did not need another extracurricular.”
I was not looking for another club or another line on my activities list. Allay took the time to understand what I was good at before suggesting opportunities. I joined a student-founded company and was responsible for a research project the team actually used. For the first time I could point to something and say, I made this contribution.
“I could finally explain what I actually did.”
You can spend months on an extracurricular and still struggle to explain why it mattered. My Allay experience was the opposite. I had a defined role, measurable deliverables, and people who relied on me to complete them. When I talked about it afterward, I was telling the story of work I had actually done.
From a parent
“I have seen many programs promise leadership or real-world experience and then give students a certificate at the end. Allay was different because my daughter could actually tell me what she was working on every week, who she was working with, and why the work mattered. She developed a relationship with her project lead and continued contributing after the original placement ended. That continuity was what impressed me most.”