BUILD Boston recently welcomed fifteen high school students into the office to kick off their six-week long journey as MLK Summer Scholars.  The MLK Scholar Program, established by John Hancock Financial, provides Boston youth with summer internships to foster career readiness and to strengthen the surrounding community.  BUILD has been hosting MLK Summer Scholars since 2012. By partnering with John Hancock during the summer, BUILD can continue engaging students even when the BUILD program is out of session.

“I believe the most positive aspect of this program is the mentorship it creates,” said Steven Mea, BUILD’s Academic Success Associate, who oversees BUILD’s MLK Scholars program.

“These internship opportunities allow young people to develop a relationship with a mentor in the professional world and to thrive from this experience.”

BUILD’s Summer Scholars are rising upper-classmen enrolled in the four-year BUILD Youth Entrepreneurship program who have been selected due to their strong potential for growth.  MLK Scholars begin their summer experience with workplace training in the BUILD office before embarking on three-week internships in fields of their choice. Some of the organizations providing internships are MentorWorks, Event Gospel, Awakening Excellence Adult Day Health Center, and the Kim Janey campaign.

Scholars also partake in skill building activities like mock interviews and resume workshops, and receive financial literacy training provided by Capital One.  To further their growth over the summer, MLK scholars attend weekly trainings at Boston University and field trips to local businesses.

MEET OUR SCHOLARS: Q&A

What are some things that you would like to learn during your MLK Scholarship?

• “New tools to better myself and help prepare me for the real world” – Zolan
• “How to make my own money and what it’s like to have my own job” – Rayna
• “During my scholarship, I want to learn what it takes to get a job…new skills, how to communicate, networking, marketing, being professional, and how to make my own money” – Lakia

What do you want to achieve as an MLK Scholar?

• “Connections for the future” – Jennifer
• “My goal is to gain more confidence in myself and to start networking” –Rayna
• “I want to become better at touch-typing and communicating” – Alexa

What challenges have you faced in your MLK Scholarship?

• “Speaking up. I’m very quiet around people” – Jurni
• “Opening up to people and being confident and professional” – Lakia
• “I can’t type as quickly as we are learning how too!” – Paula

 What is fun about being an MLK Scholar?

• “Working with other people and meeting new people” – Zayden
• “Making new friendships” – Wendy
• “How everyday we get to do something different and to learn from every activity we do” – Paula

Join John Hancock in its mission to get Boston teens ready for the workforce by hosting an MLK Summer Scholar intern next year! Email us at GreaterBoston@build.org  to get involved!