County benefits from internship program
Published on August 01, 2022
Jackson County was the beneficiary of a five-week internship program over the summer.
The Pro X internship program is a relaunched version of the former Entrepreneurship KC with new partnerships, programming and opportunities for students. The program provided nearly 500 Kansas City area students with a five-week internship. Along with valuable experience students received a $1,200 stipend. The stipend was paid for by Pro X, rather than the employer.
The county was host to four interns as part the program.
Blue Springs South senior Braeden Sholes learned about the internship program from a friend who worked with the intergroup program helping coordinate it into schools.
“I heard about it from her and eventually our counselors sent out an email giving more information,” he said.
Sholes interned in the Population Control Office in the Corrections Department. During his internship he assisted with welcoming clients, creating and organizing files, and was able to observe court and electronic monitoring equipment installations.
Sholes said he has always been fascinated by jails and prisons. “When I went to the hiring fair and saw this, this was my first pick.”
“Going to court was fun and seeing the trials was a lot of fun just getting to witness a lot of the inner workings of this office,” he said. “Personally, I didn’t know anything about population control and county house arrests until coming here and have learned quite a bit.”
Population Control Coordinator Megan Castilleja said Sholes was a welcomed presence in the office.
“His assistance was extremely helpful and much appreciated,” she said. “He had great attention to detail, and he caught on very quickly. He was organized and motivated to get tasks completed and eager to have more to work on.”
“It was wonderful to have him here,” Castilleja said.
Sholes said that he learned a lot and that his internship was very valuable. “One of the huge things for me was networking and resume building so having this on a resume looks good. As I learned this looks a lot better on a resume than having a fast-food joint or something like that.”
“I’ve gotten to go into court a few times and meet a few lawyers. I personally want to pursue a legal field so getting to meet and connect with some of those lawyers in those fields have been beneficial,” he said.
Two of the interns worked in the Parks + Rec Department. Quinten Falk, a senior at Blue Springs South High School, and Tracen Jones, a sophomore at Blue Springs High School, performed several duties working within each of the five divisions of the park system.
According to Superintendent of Recreation Tina Spallo, the two internships mirrored each other with a number of shared experiences. The two participated in a superintendent meeting to learn how the department communicates and works together.
Some of their duties included tree trimming and brush clean up, general seasonal duties at the Marinas like cleaning boats, knocking down cobwebs, dock work and stocking store shelves. They spent a full day at Missouri Town learning about the construction of the town, tin smithing. They also bottle-fed baby lambs and helped with the oxen. The two each spent a couple of days with the Rangers greeting guests, witnessing enforcement and education.
Time was also spent cashiering at Longview Beach, working with the ballfield crew at Adair Park and a Special Population Services Dance. At the golf course they helped with grounds maintenance.
“I worked with them on how we budget and prioritize capital requests,” Spallo said. “They learned a lot about procurement and purchasing as the Turf Bid came back while they were still interning.”
As part of the internship students are required to do a final project. Falk and Jones did their report on the Special Population Services Dance.
“They had to create a presentation about the organization and administration of the program, which included funding, scheduling of the facility, hiring of a disc jockey, promotion of the event, scheduling of associates to work the event, and the day of responsibilities of checking in participants, overseeing activities and registering new participants,” Spallo said.
“Both Tracen and Quintin were outstanding young men,” she said. “They were very responsible to their duties and took the internship very seriously. Very inquisitive and willing to learn. Both were very interested in conservation and wildlife preservation. I would highly recommend them for future internships or employment with the county.”
Te’a Bell, a student at Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, interned in the Collections Department.
According to Director Whitney Miller, she helped get prepared and organized for the department’s move by collecting an inventory of all tech equipment and organizing it onto a spreadsheet. She also helped the department stay up to date on organizing our documentation for the 2022 County tax sale in August.
“She was incredibly reliable and task oriented. She was also a joy to talk with and get to know. I appreciated her help so much and we miss having her around the office,” Miller said.
Sholes said three of his good friends also participated in the program, one at the Mayor’s Office, one at Parks & Rec and another at city hall.
“I would 100 percent recommend internship to others. It has been fun, and I have learned a lot,” he said.
Sholes and Falk both decided they would like to continue their work with the county. Falk recently became a seasonal ballfield crewman at Adair Park and Sholes is hoping to return to Population Control as an intern.