Internship program places hundreds; students and partners say paid placements helped career exploration
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Summary
Northern Kane and the Alignment Collaborative reported 243 paid student internships this summer across 55 employer partners and more than $240,000 paid to students; several interns told the board the experience informed their postsecondary and career plans.
District and regional staff and representatives of the Alignment Collaborative told the board the summer internship program expanded this year and delivered paid, supervised placements across a wide range of industries.
Todd (Northern Kane director) and Nancy Coleman of the Alignment Collaborative said the program fielded more than 1,000 applicants, worked with 55 organizations and placed 243 students in paid internships this past summer. Coleman said the placements put about $240,000 back into students' pockets and estimated the program's return on investment to the four participating districts at over $700,000 when volunteer hours and other contributions are counted.
Four student interns spoke to the board about their experiences. One student who interned at Wintrust Bank described learning customer service, cash-handling and exposure to wealth-management fields; another who worked on social-media marketing for a Rosati's franchise described producing promotional calendars and social posts that were published. A pharmacy-technology intern described hands-on compounding experience and mentoring at Good Shepherd, and a student placed at Lakeview Precision Manufacturing described exposure to quality control, engineering and machine-shop workflows.
Board members praised the program and asked how business partners could express interest in hosting interns; presenters said inquiries should be routed to program staff via email or phone. The board asked staff to continue fostering partnerships and to consider expanding internship opportunities where feasible.