Nonprofit puts high school students on ladder to success

Like many nonprofit founders, LaKissa Bright saw a need and figured out a way to address it when she launched Ladders for Leaders.

A mother of two and member of the Round Rock PTA, Ms. Bright noticed internship opportunities in Round Rock to prepare local students for college or the workforce didn’t measure up to what other places — specifically Austin — were offering. Round Rock hired seven to 10 students in the summer, while Austin put more than 200 students to work, she said.

When her daughter went off to college, she changed her major three times her freshman year. Ms. Bright believed it was because her daughter didn’t have an opportunity to work an internship in a field she was interested in. As a result, it cost her time and money.

Ms. Bright wanted to make sure her son and other students didn’t end up in the same dilemma.

In October 2018, Ms. Bright enlisted local business leaders, educators and school board members to join the board of the newly chartered Ladders for Leaders program. They selected 15 interns from 63 applications for the summer of 2019.

This past summer, 42 interns from around the county were selected from 139 applications to take paid internships in nonprofits, government and businesses.

During sessions in the spring, students fine-tune their resumes, learn proper etiquette and attire for the workplace, set up LinkedIn profiles and practice interviewing.

Isabela Caneda, a 2022 Eastview High School graduate and freshman at the University of Texas, was one such intern. Ms. Caneda is majoring in nursing. Her placement at Senior Access, a nonprofit that provides free transportation and assistance to seniors in Round Rock, was a great match.

“I appreciated the experience,” Ms. Caneda said. “I learned how to communicate with an older population and to be a better listener.

She especially enjoyed helping seniors getting on and off the van, carrying groceries to their homes and listening to their stories. She also appreciated being able to help on some agency projects.

Georgetown businesses C.D. Bradshaw and Associates, P.C.,and Eagles Wings Home Improvement offered Ladders for Leaders internships to students pursuing careers in accounting and construction, Ms. Bright said. Students aren’t the only ones to who benefit, Ms. Bright said, as businesses and nonprofits generate new business and receive extra help.

Internships are open to high school students in the county and new high school graduates. The application process for next year opens in January.

Ms. Bright hopes to have 60 internships lined up next summer. She dreams of the program growing beyond Williamson County.

“Every student should have exposure to careers before deciding on a profession,” Ms. Bright said. “It is my goal to make this opportunity available to all students in the state of Texas.”

For more information about applying for an internship, to be an employer or to support the nonprofit, visit www.LaddersForLeadersTX.org.