Career Services

Modeling itself after a university’s career services office, KIPP to College offers a range of services to assist alumni in defining and realizing their career goals, including a Summer Internship Program for high school- and college-aged alumni, workshops and other forums that help alumni to discover a variety of career paths and identify their own values and professional interests, and assistance in securing full-time jobs.

Volunteers and partner organizations are vital to KTC’s internships and career development opportunities. Volunteers introduce alumni to specific career paths and the professional world by participating in career panels, networking events, résumé workshops, and the like and by hiring students as summer interns.

Summer Internship Program

KIPP to College launched its Summer Internship Program in 2003 to instill in alumni an understanding of and an enthusiasm for the variety of jobs that exist in the world and to provide paid summer work opportunities that contribute to their career development and personal growth.

In the summer of 2007, over 110 alumni were placed in paid summer internship positions at businesses and nonprofits, including Bloomberg, Junior Achievement, the KIPP Foundation, KIPP NYC schools, Lesch & Lesch Bronx Family Law Firm, SAP, Warner Music Group, and Wells Fargo.

In addition to fulfilling their commitments to their respective jobs, interns also attend regularly scheduled professional development workshops led by KTC staff and other internship site managers. Workshops address the fundamentals of professionalism (including resume development, interviewing strategies, job performance, etc.), challenges that students of color and young people may face in the workplace, ethical dilemmas, financial literacy, the nature and the challenges of the industries they are working in, personal goal setting, and college and career planning.

Summer interns set professional, financial, and personal goals for themselves and reflect on their experiences in writing. All interns prepare a comprehensive portfolio detailing their work experiences and lessons learned, and they present their portfolios to other interns and KIPP NYC staff.

To ensure that the internships are running smoothly, a KIPP to College staff member checks in regularly with site managers and interns. At the end of the summer, site managers complete surveys and provide feedback on the interns’ progress. A testament to the success of the KTC Summer Internship Program, all of last year’s internship sites have committed to hosting interns again this year, and many of the companies and KIPP NYC alumni continue to work together throughout the year, even after the formal internship ends.

First-year interns are paid a $1,000 stipend and earn an additional $250 per year thereafter if they continue with the program. Internship sites also provide MetroCards and a $5 daily lunch stipend. Because we believe that meaningful professional summer experiences are critical for preparing our alumni for the world of work, the KIPP Opportunity Fund provides necessary funds to underwrite internships when on-site funding is not available.

Career Development

KTC helps to nurture and develop the career interests of KIPP NYC alumni through a variety of resources. KTC hosts career fairs and guest speakers to help alumni explore different career fields. KTC also engages alumni in activities to help them define areas of interest to them. Financial literacy workshops, mock interviews, résumé clinics, and networking opportunities prepare alumni to discern career paths of interest and to succeed in the fields they choose.

As KIPP NYC’s first cohorts begin to embark on their full-time careers, KTC is supporting them in their job searches. In a special effort targeted to graduating college seniors, KTC offers:

• Résumé workshops
• Workshops on job search strategies
• Interview skills and practice
• Networking events
• One-to-one career counseling