Nearly 1,000 Kansas City high school students flooded the Kansas City Convention Center last Saturday, eager to secure paid summer internships with 99 local employers. For many, the ProX Hiring Fair represented their first step into professional life.
Solissa Franco-McKay, ProX’s executive director, watched as students from 118 invited schools across Kansas and Missouri navigated the bustling venue.
“This is our fourth summer of programming, so we’re still in infancy,” Franco-McKay said. “We started off as an itty bitty initiative that just wanted to offer some summer internships, and now we’re a full-blown 501(c)(3) nonprofit.”
The Kauffman Foundation affiliate gained nonprofit status only recently but has already made a substantial impact. Franco-McKay noted the program’s impressive reach.
“To date, we’ve been able to place 1,500 interns, and we’ve been able to work with over 150 different employers since our inception,” she said. “We’ll just add on to that this year, and we’ll be well over to the 2,000 mark by the end of this summer.”
The energy electrified Tony Temple—former area football star and founder of the Temple Made Foundation, which focuses on youth literacy and wellness. Temple says this was his first ProX event, and he planned to hire four summer interns.
“My mind is blown,” says Temple. “The energy of the kids, the enthusiasm of them just running in to find what fits them — I’ve just been blown away by how professional they are and serious about their futures.”
Franco-McKay emphasized that compensation makes these opportunities accessible to all students. Each intern works 25 hours weekly over five weeks, earning a $1,250 stipend upon completion.
“Being able to pay students for their labor is really important,” says Franco-McKay. “That’s part of the experience as well.”
A stipend given to employers from ProX makes it so both interns and employers see benefits.
“The stipend is just an extra added incentive, and employers really appreciate it too,” Franco-McKay said. “It’s an incentive and something that the program picks up and the employer is not responsible.”
Lee’s Summit North freshman Shyanne Watson secured an internship with KC Heartland Chamber, where she’ll spend the next five weeks connecting businesses with resources.
“I’m very excited that I found ProX at a career session in my high school,” says Watson. “Then I joined another youth program to help me prepare for this job fair and interview prep. It’ll be my first job, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Beyond work experience, ProX builds crucial professional networks. Franco-McKay sees this as perhaps the program’s most valuable aspect.
“Having a network is really important, we know that as adults, but I think they can start learning that here,” says Franco-McKay. “A lot of times through these internships, they end up having a mentor as well.”
Franco-McKay says ProX specifically brings in local employers that understand their developmental role.
“There’s a certain amount of investment that you have to make with your interns throughout those five weeks in order for this to be a worthwhile experience for you and for them,” says Franco-McKay.
She’s observed mutually beneficial mentor relationships forming over their first few years. She’s seen how the students bring value to the employers, and often the intern and employer end up “co-mentoring” each other.
“We have some employer mentors who stay connected with the kids past the five-week internship,” says Franco-McKay. “That’s you building your network. That’s you having an extra adult in your corner who believes in you and who has been able to see your skills front and center.”
The fair featured 22 different industries spanning healthcare, government, nonprofits, and businesses of all sizes. Franco-McKay stressed that early career exposure is critical.
“Research shows that the sooner you can expose these young people to different jobs, different fields, different industries, it really can expand their horizons,” says Franco-McKay,
This exposure helps students make informed career decisions.
“You can’t be what you can’t see,” Franco-McKay added. “A lot of students may not have access to certain professions or industries and have no idea that it could be something in their wheelhouse.”
Temple says the only ‘draw back’ to the event was that he found the hiring decisions difficult.
“So many kids are passionate about just working and serving their community,” says Temple. “It’s really hard to not take everyone we’ve talked to and interviewed today.”
