Mayor’s summer interns honored at luncheon

Last Friday, around 80 Plano ISD high schoolers who participated in the Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program were honored during a special luncheon at the Plano Event Center. Mayor John Muns was on hand as well other community leaders, employers and program sponsors.

AT&T senior legal counsel Vana Hammond Parham delivered the keynote speech. She discussed some of the highlights of her impressive career, including serving as a police officer, a city attorney, and a top leader in the Dallas mayor’s office.

The event was co-emceed by Katie Chou, a rising junior at Plano West Senior High School and an intern at Centurion American Development Group; and Tariq Wrensford, a rising senior at Plano West Senior High School and an intern at Children’s Health.

Joining them and the mayor on stage were Capital One manager of social innovation Andrella Thomas, Plano ISD Board of Trustees secretary Jeri Chambers, Secretary, Plano ISD Board of Trustees; and JPMorgan Chase & Co human resources market leader DeJuan Taylor.

“The Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program is a prime example of how public-private partnerships have far-reaching impact on education and business development in Plano,” Muns said. “Even more important, this program connects our city’s sought-after businesses and nonprofits with talented young people who bring fresh perspectives to the workplace while learning work life skills that will serve them for years to come.”

The program began in 2014.  Capital One has served as the presenting sponsor each year. Other sponsors participating this year included JPMorgan Chase & Co. , The Boeing Company  NTT Data  AT&T, Atmos Energy, Bank of America, City of Plano, Dallas Mavericks, FedEx Office, Liberty Mutual, Oncor, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Plano and Toyota Motor North America. Plano ISD is the education partner.

Students in the program get part-time and full-time positions with various local companies and community organizations.  More than 400 students from all the Plano High Schools applied for the 80 internship positions.

All qualifying students attended a virtual Internship Prep, a mandatory training day held virtually March 19, and a virtual Job Fair on April 22. Once the interns were offered a job, they attended a full day of intern training and enrichment where they learned about business soft skills, financial literacy, networking, corporate culture, team-building and work-readiness topics. They also had their LinkedIn headshots taken by a professional photographer.

Among the companies and organizations participating in the program this year were ArtCentre of Plano, Assistance Center of Collin County, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Plano, Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County, Casa of Collin County, Centurion American Development Group, Children’s Health, City of Plano; Collin College – Plano Campus, Dallas Plano Marriott, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, Habitat for Humanity of Collin County, Hendrick Scholarship Foundation, Hilti, Inc., Hilton Granite Park, Hope’s Door New Beginning Center, JPMorgan Chase, Junior Achievement of Dallas, Legacy Tower – LPC, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Meals On Wheels Collin County, Medical City Frisco, Medical City Plano, Minnie’s Food Pantry, My Possibilities, Operation Kindness, PepsiCo, Plano Chamber of Commerce, Plano ISD, Plano ISD Education Foundation, Susan G. Komen Dallas County, Texas Health Plano, The Boeing Company, The Salvation Army of Plano, and The Samaritan Inn.

“The Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program gives students the incredible opportunity to gain valuable experience with the amazing businesses and nonprofits in our region,” Capital One Financial Service president Sanjiv Yajnik said. “Building on the Capital One Impact Initiative, this program enables us to continue to be a strong advocate for the community and fuel the talent pipeline in DFW.”