In central Kentucky, it’s not unusual for large corporations, like Lexmark, to accept college interns for a summer, semester or school year. However, small businesses haven’t gotten as much into internships. But that’s about to change.
Advance Lexington, a group project by this year’s Leadership Lexington class, will pair up small businesses in the community with top-quality students from local colleges for internships. Leadership Lexington is a 10-month leadership development program that gives participants the chance to better understand how their community works. Advance Lexington, one of four projects this year’s class is tackling, is scheduled to begin the internship program next January.
One of the group’s 15 members, Mary Ellen Harden, president of Wall Street Greetings, a Versailles greeting card company with national accounts, has had experience bringing in interns in the past.
“I’ve worked with graphic arts interns, pulling them from the University of Kentucky, Georgetown College and Spencerian College,” said Harden, a graduate of the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business.
Upon graduating in 2007, finding a job was tough. But through contacts gathered during her time as an intern at Lexmark, she was able to land full-time work at Wall Street Greetings.
“Many peers who graduated with me left Lexington because there weren’t small-business work opportunities. We’re trying to make that connection for college juniors and seniors who want to stay in Lexington after graduation but aren’t sure where they’ll find employment. Most students haven’t connected to the whole small-business community,” Harden said.
Another member of Leadership Lexington, Jessica Ditto, believes there’s a need and has information to back it up.
Ditto said the group surveyed 70 small businesses, in addition to local colleges, to see which academic programs best align with the needs and cultures of small businesses.
Research was done to benchmark similar programs in places like Nashville and Oklahoma City.
Most, but not all, internships would be paid. The students and the businesses will actually be “selected” based on things like students’ talent or performance in school or on the growth of the businesses themselves. “Small businesses are looking for creative insights. If you have interns coming into the business on a regular basis, new ideas flow,” Ditto said.
Liz Toombs who owns two small Lexington businesses, Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors, providing residential and light commercial interior-design work, and Out of the Box Room Design, an online-based interior design resource for do-it-yourselfers, accepted college interns each of the past four years and has another coming in May.
Toombs said she goes back to the Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles program at UK where she earned her degree to recruit interns. “Many students don’t know they can do things outside of the fashion industry. There are similar skill sets between the fashion and design industries,” Toombs said. “When I interview them, I look for a desire to learn, initiative, and if they’re good workers.”
Interns shadow Toombs and learn what it takes to run a business. One of them was Halie Starwalt, who had an unpaid two-days-per-week internship with Toombs last summer but has since been hired part-time while she completes her studies at UK.
“I did a lot of tasks, which is what I loved about it,” Starwalt said. “I went to client meetings, worked with clients, went furniture and accessory shopping, picked out fabrics and did a floor plan.”
She said it was a great addition to her UK work. “Those one-on-one client meetings, the people skills I learned, you just can’t get that in a classroom,” said Starwalt, a junior, who expects to graduate in May 2015.
Toombs often has her interns working independently because she’s always on the fly as owner/operator. But she checks in regularly with them to discuss what the student is experiencing and if they’re getting what they expected out of the internship. Every employer-intern relationship is different. “It was kind of a growth experience for me, as well,” she said.
Toombs said she feels a need to mentor young people. “I like to give back to my specific program at UK and give them support as an alumnus. In higher education, there’s a disconnection between what is taught in the classroom and what actually happens in the business world. The more practical experience I can give, then that makes students better equipped to enter the workforce,” she said.
Starwalt highly recommends students seek internships. “It helps you realize whether you’re on the right track or not. At first, I didn’t know whether I wanted to go the interior design route or the fashion route. It just solidified that I like interior design.”
If all goes well, this Leadership Lexington class project could live on in perpetuity following the class’s commencement in June.
“I believe the work Advance Lexington is doing to build an internship program that includes small companies in the area is important in assisting with retention of skilled talent,” said Billie Peavler, executive director of the Business and Education Network, which is based out of Commerce Lexington. “I am excited to learn more about the program and see exactly how it fits with the Business and Education Network’s mission. We can then decide if the Business and Education Network is the right catalyst for continuing this project.”
The group plans to launch a website. In the meantime, those looking to get involved, including businesses that would like to utilize interns, can contact Harden at maryellen@wallstreetgreetings.com.