Corporate Internship Program director Jan Fuller (center) joins interns (left to right) Raven Johnson, Cameron Smith, Regina Grayson, and Edward Hurst.

Banking on their Future

Posted May 27, 2011

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME you heard a teenager plotting his resume strategy? That’s exactly what high school senior Cameron Smith would advise underclassmen to do when they’re considering Birmingham’s Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic School’s Corporate Internship Program (CIP). “You can put it on your resume, and it’s good work experience,” Cameron says. “That’s good to have at such a young age.”

Some of the kids in this innovative work study program get so caught up in their jobs that they forget they’re still students—or try to. CIP Director Jan Fuller, equal parts guidance counselor, commanding officer, and corporate ambassador, is happy to remind them: “Once they start working, the kids will say, ‘I’m treated as an adult there, and I don’t have to do student work.’ We have to make them understand that just the opposite is true.”

Holy Family belongs to the Cristo Rey Network. This national association of Catholic high schools not only offers underserved children a college preparatory education, but also partners with local businesses to create the internship program. Students chosen for the program usually work one day a week, which pays 70 percent of their tuition.

Before claiming a spot at the water cooler, however, prospective interns must first make it through Cristo Rey’s rigorous evaluation process. It includes a two-week summer training seminar, complete with dress code. They learn everything from data entry to telephone etiquette and have training sessions with Junior Achievement and Dale Carnegie. Local business professionals also volunteer to teach some of the training sessions. Throughout the summer seminar, students are expected to maintain a positive, cooperative attitude. “We interview the kids to see who has leadership skills,” Jan explains. “Even if they’re shy, you can sometimes see it there. We also interview the parents to make sure they understand that this will be demanding.”

Jan is in her fourth year as program director and jokes that she should get a cap and gown, right along with the other graduating seniors. A friend first told her about the job and encouraged her to take it. “I told her I didn’t know if I liked children that much,” she laughs. “But now I can’t do enough for them.”

Usually, she said, the internship program works like job sharing—four students share one entry-level position. But some companies, like Regions Bank, place students in different departments, giving each one a unique work experience and allowing employees from several areas of the business to work with them.

“Most of these students will go to college and will eventually be the new kid on the block in a professional setting,” explained Shannon Clark at Regions. “The internship program offers them an opportunity, not just to get work experience, but to talk with employees about how they chose and prepared for their own career paths. It’s not that we’re trying to train all these students to become future bankers. We’re trying to give them the confidence to come into a new work environment, understand what will be expected of them, and know what kinds of questions to ask in order to succeed.”

Shannon and colleague Lyles Box have mentored Cameron—the ace resume builder—who plans to attend the University of Alabama and go to law school. Cameron’s fellow interns include Raven Johnson, who looks forward to the premed program at Stillman College; Regina Grayson, who hopes to study social work or early childhood education at Miles College; and Edward Hurst, who’s planning on a psychology degree from Tuskegee University. 

The confidence-building factor that Shannon mentioned is a huge part of this internship program. (If you don’t believe that, flash back to 16. Now picture your teenage self working alongside adults in suits.) Edward’s mentor, Ryan Presley, said he intentionally devises projects that will give Edward opportunities to interact with staff and develop business communication skills. Meanwhile, Regina has learned how to research potential customers and report that information to her mentor, Betty Sloan.

“It’s a win-win,” says Betty, who is amazed at the ability of such young teenagers to handle themselves in a corporate setting. “To interact with adults, with bankers and executives—I don’t know if I could’ve done that at their age.”

Editor’s Note: Six Holy Family students lost their homes to recent tornados. Basic toiletries, etc., can be dropped off at 2001 19th St., Ensley, Alabama.

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