Ask HN: Good Summer Internships for Beginners?

Hello all, I’m an (undergraduate) Freshman pre-Computer Science major and I’m looking for companies or government agencies that offer good summer internships. I have a pretty comprehensive list of such opportunities (provided by my university), but unfortunately the descriptions on these programs’ websites are often vague and lacking important information (e.g. regarding a salary/stipend), so I was hoping the HN community could offer some suggestions.

The main things that I’m looking for in a summer internship are (1) actual hands-on experience building real projects (i.e. not being a coffee-boy) and (2) a salary/stipend that can cover my costs for the summer. And since I’m just looking to get my hands dirty and gain my first real experience, I’m not interested in applying to anything highly-selective and prestigious.

To provide some context about me: I’m strongest in pure mathematics, but I have a decent amount of experience with Python (as well as some common packages like numpy/scipy, PIL, Flask, etc) and beginner’s knowledge of Javascript and SQLite. I have theoretical knowledge about some topics in machine learning/AI such as evolutionary algorithms, neural networks and natural language processing, but I haven’t had the chance to apply them to anything practical.

Your suggestions are much appreciated!