This summer, 100 Lynchburg City Schools (LCS) high school students spent three weeks gaining valuable hands-on career experience with companies across the city through the Lynchburg Beacon of Hope internship program. For the past three years, the nonprofit has partnered with LCS to place and mentor nearly 250 interns. This year’s 22 business partners included Framatome, Vector Space, Jamerson-Lewis Construction, Centra, Lynchburg Grows, Moore and Giles, Teachable Moments, the Farm Basket, First National Bank, and others.
“Our summer internship program is a game-changer for LCS students, offering them real-world experience, the chance to develop essential skills for the workplace, and exposure to the amazing Lynchburg business community,” said Beacon of Hope Executive Director Leidra McQueen. “It's incredible to see their growth throughout the summer and hear about their experiences.”
Students underwent a competitive selection process, which included interviews with prospective employers.
Interns participated in a weeklong intensive skills training period before starting at their internship sites. They learned to build resumes and LinkedIn profiles, ace job interviews, network, communicate in the workplace, collaborate with coworkers, and maintain professionalism. Beacon of Hope instructors also led general financial literacy workshops, which included education on investing, credit, student loans, and more.
Armed with a solid foundation of career and financial management skills, students reported to their internship sites, accruing 48 hours of paid job experience over three weeks. Each Friday, they convened to reflect on their experiences, share the knowledge they’d gained with their peers, and discuss opportunities for growth. Students emerged with newfound confidence and job experience that will equip them for postgraduate success early.
Rising E. C. Glass eleventh grader Leah Johnson got hands-on experience with specialized tools and machinery at her internship with Vector Space.
“At my internship, they gave me independence to learn by doing,” said rising E. C. Glass High School eleventh grader Leah Johnson, who interned with Vector Space, a nonprofit community makerspace. “I learned how to use woodworking tools and got to try welding, which I might want to do as a career in the future.”
For many students, this program served as a first glimpse into the fields they plan to pursue after graduation. Rising Heritage High School twelfth grader Gabriel Barbato’s internship with Framatome served as an introduction to the world of nuclear engineering.
Framatome interns learned about nuclear engineering and explored various sectors of the business.
“My mentor at Framatome taught us about the business and explained what his day-to-day looked like. I felt really comfortable asking questions, and he gave me advice on how to go about pursuing engineering as a career,” Barbato said.
Barbato and his fellow interns learned about different sectors of Framatome’s business and teamed up with engineers to code robots for combat at the end of the program. Rising E. C. Glass twelfth grader Million Gubay’s team won the final fight, knocking opposing teams’ robots off a raised platform.
“Coding the robot helped me build on knowledge from computer science classes I’ve taken. Our team mentor from Framatome helped us through the process,” Gubay said. “It was a great opportunity, and it opened a lot of doors for me.”
Rising E. C. Glass twelfth grader Million Gubay and his teammate Hudson Fore celebrate their Robot Wars win.
Gubay wasn’t the only one who finished his internship feeling victorious. Rising E. C. Glass twelfth grader Faheem Megginson was offered a part-time position at the end of his internship with Jamerson-Lewis Construction.
“Going in, I didn’t expect to have an opportunity to get a year-round job. This internship has been a huge eye-opener and a great opportunity to get experience early before taking off in my career,” Megginson said. “I’ve learned a lot from my boss and developed better communication skills.”
When Megginson started his internship, he’d already developed a solid foundation through Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes at LCS. Under the guidance of seasoned construction professionals, he developed carpentry skills by installing floorboards, walls, and other building components. Megginson received one-on-one mentorship and training, and his skills proved valuable to the company.
Rising E. C. Glass twelfth grader Faheem Megginson and his fellow intern onsite with Jamerson-Lewis Construction.
“This program wouldn't be possible without the support from our local business community, whose dedication to cultivating Lynchburg's young talent is unmatched. Each summer, a number of students have been able to continue their employment beyond the summer and into the school year,” said Beacon of Hope Executive Director Leidra McQueen.
Through their summer internships and other programs, Beacon of Hope is strengthening bonds between LCS and the surrounding community. Students gain professional development opportunities from their partnerships with businesses, and in turn, businesses reap the benefits of a talented, dedicated, and innovative pool of local young professionals.
Beacon of Hope’s internship program fosters mutually beneficial relationships between local employers and students.
“Beacon of Hope’s internship program shows students they don’t have to go to Charlottesville or Greensboro to get a good job. There are great jobs right in our community. Even within Framatome, there are so many opportunities,” said Framatome Program Manager of Interns and Talent Management Specialist Andrea Poncé. “We don’t just hire engineers; there are many facets to our business. We introduce our interns to each of them.”
Students finish their internships with fresh insights on the opportunities available to them in Lynchburg and beyond. The connections they gain onsite serve as valuable starting points as they prepare to kickstart their careers after graduation.
“I’m pursuing engineering, and I’ve been able to network with people in the industry because of this program. Beacon of Hope prepared me to make professional connections and use tools like LinkedIn,” said Beacon of Hope summer mentor Chloe Ro, who graduated this past school year from Heritage High.
Ro is one of 14 summer mentors employed by Beacon of Hope this year to support interns and facilitate the program. She interned with Framatome during her time at Heritage High and plans to study chemical engineering at the University of Virginia in the fall. Ro and her fellow mentors are recipients of Beacon of Hope scholarships as well as alumni of the internship program. Their experiences uniquely equipped them to share important perspectives with their mentees.
Summer mentors supported interns at job sites and gave back to the community by volunteering with community partners, like Lynchburg Grows.
Whether students immediately secure part-time jobs, form connections that will help them down the line, or gain insights that inform their career journeys, Beacon of Hope’s internship program provides a wealth of opportunities. Surrounded by a network of support–from business partners to Beacon of Hope staff and mentors to peers–they finish the program eager to pave a path of success for the future.
“It takes a village to prepare a student for success after high school. Beacon of Hope and LCS do an exceptional job getting students there,” Poncé said.