Inside ProX’s hands-on, how-to guide for students entering the workforce (and the business payoff)

When ProX is at its best, the collaborative internship program provides as much value to Kansas City employers as it does to the high school students who’ve invested prime summer vacation time into the real-world learning opportunity, business owners said.

“The students did a really good job, it’s like getting a free consultation from a professional,” said Jonathan Garvey, founder of Pancho’s Blanket, a Crossroads-based maker and retailer of handmade Mexican garments that hosted ProX students through a partnership with Startland’s Social Change Internship.

Startland is the nonprofit parent organization of Startland News.

“Their strategies are great and we’re going to be implementing some of them possibly in the next budget,” said Garvey, noting the interns used the summer opportunity to develop  innovative marketing solutions for his brand.

From the archives: These brothers brought artisan Mexican designs to the streets of KC; now Pancho’s Blanket is opening a Crossroads shop

ProX and its partners match young people with Kansas City employers to curate professional experiences that both boost the students’ skills and strengthen the region’s talent infrastructure today and tomorrow, organizers said.

The eight-week, paid internship program mobilized hundreds of high school students this summer, culminating in a July ProX showcase and competition.

 

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Interns teamed with Kansas City-based health startup Come on Now earned first place at the event, taking home a $5,000 — and the endorsement of tech founder Dr. Shelley Cooper.

“ProX helps them to get an idea of how to be professional on the job, how to perform on the job, and to interact with adults, as well as setting goals for themselves,” she said, noting students aided her company with a variety of efforts: creating TikToks and newsletters, software development, grant writing, and even helping Come on Now with preparation for pitch competitions.

That hands-on experience prepares the ProX interns to enter the job market and stand out to future employers, Cooper said, adding that she’s looking forward to having her business partner for the program again next year.

“ProX helps employers to know this generation is capable of doing what needs to be done, and that they have the tools to make it happen,” she said.

Gaining exposure

Startland’s Social Change Internship (SCI) targets ProX interns who are passionate about making a difference. In its most recent cohort, 13 students from 11 different schools used human-centered design thinking and pitched real-world solutions to share with Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Another valuable learning experience provided through the internship was getting students exposed to Kansas City. SCI interns went on a driving tour through the community and joined an Urban Hikes KC walking tour. Guest speakers from Codealgo Academy, KC Digital Drive, and social change alumni also visited to offer coaching on pitching.

A showcase event specifically for SCI interns at MultiStudio in Westport marked the end of the cohort as the three teams — partnered with Pancho’s Blanket, Scholar Smarts, and Farm School — presented their client-connected ideas to achieve new growth and exposure for their selected businesses.

Student pitches

Team Farm School pitches during the summer Social Change Internship (SCI) showcase for participating ProX interns; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Team Farm School (Aurianna Garcia, Arielle Li, Jaylynne Atkins, Raahul Aravind)

The Farm School team worked with KC Farm School, a nonprofit offering a Farmers Market, farming education, and youth workshops, to create Connectify, an app designed to address their limited community outreach by connecting other small businesses together for collaboration and increased attendance at events.

Team Scholar Smarts pitches during the summer Social Change Internship (SCI) showcase for participating ProX interns; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Team Scholar Smarts (Justin Brolis, Brandon Crilley, Daniel Davis, Imani Rivera, Navya Bhatia)

The team proposed enhancing Scholar Smarts, an organization connecting scholarships and college prep workshops to students, by improving its advertising and redesigning its website to be more user-friendly, including features like a “Get Started” button, to ensure an easier and faster connection to their educational services.

Team Pancho’s Blanket pitches during the summer Social Change Internship (SCI) showcase for participating ProX interns; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Team Pancho’s Blanket (Elly Brunton, Garrett Li, Mamy Seydi, Caden Johnson)

The team collaborated with Pancho’s Blanket, an eco-friendly apparel business in Kansas City selling artisan wool blankets, sweaters and jackets, to develop a marketing strategy targeting young professionals through Instagram reels and in-person city market booths to increase brand awareness and sales.

Change you can see

Audience members ask interns questions during the summer Social Change Internship (SCI) showcase for participating ProX interns; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Inspired by the work they’ve done through the program, students often take their idea one step further after the internship ends and implement their solutions into the community, said Adam Surrey, who served as teacher development manager at Startland and was a key facilitator of the summer SCI program.

“We’ve had kids start 501c3 nonprofits from their work with us, we had kids that developed influencer campaigns, and some student groups that then passed the baton to younger students that were coming up,” Surrey said.

The leadership and design thinking skills that students acquire through SCI will go further than the classroom, he added, noting such lessons stick with students as they enter the workforce. 

“The ability to be able to identify a problem, develop a solution for it and make that a real thing that kind of lives in the world, I think is a unique experience to education,” Surrey said, adding that pushing for entrepreneurial thinking in the classroom needn’t remain uncommon.