It’s not too late for interested businesses and nonprofits to sign up and offer a teen a life-changing opportunity at the Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program, organizers said.

Organizations, from startups and mid-sized businesses to major corporations, can sign up by April 1. The job fair will be held April 21.

In preparation for the program job fair in April, roughly 300 Plano high school juniors attended a full day of intern prep training Saturday at Plano ISD’s Sockwell Center.

Students got a crash course in everything from resume building and elevator speeches, to mock interviews, professional etiquette, and life skills.

The students hope to secure a spot in the summer internship program, which runs June 12-Aug. 4, and immerses teens within some of the area’s most sought-after businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies, according to organizers.

Valuable work experience for high schoolers

Capital One, the program’s founding and presenting sponsor for 10 years, offered a fast-paced curriculum with the help of Plano Mayor John Muns, who offered sound advice and words of encouragement, plus a Q&A panel with intern alums, seminars with business professionals and break-out groups conducting mock interviews.

Combining Plano’s vibrant business community with a nationally recognized school district, the program is a paid summer internship for rising juniors and seniors attending a Plano public school or who live in Plano.

Since its inception in 2014, the program has provided over 600 Plano high school students with internships at small and large companies, nonprofits, and governmental agencies throughout the city. Through these internships, students have gained valuable work experience and have developed the vision and skills needed to transition into college and future careers.

The internships provide life-changing, real work experiences, and have helped build the vision and the skills needed for students to successfully transition into college and into future careers.

And for participating companies, the Mayor’s Summer Internship Program has proven to be a rewarding investment in the area’s future workforce by showing interns that their hometown is more than a starting point, it is a career destination.

The program’s success is due in part to its partnerships with major companies like Capital One, Boeing, NTT Data, Toyota, PepsiCo, Ericsson, and JPMorganChase, as well as nonprofits like Susan G. Komen, My Possibilities, and Operation Kindness. These companies have recognized the value of investing in the future workforce and have reaped the rewards of participating in the program.

For more information 

To learn more or sign up, businesses can go here. Students go here.

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