Up To Date

Kansas City Paid Internship Program Receives Overwhelming Response

By Steve Kraske,

Published May 1, 2021 at 1:48 PM CDT

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Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas delivers his State of the City address Wednesday night from the stage in Winnetonka High School. — Once an intern in the office of Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Kay Barnes, current Mayor Quinton Lucas strongly supports the Working For Youth internship initiative.

With the goal of placing 500 Kansas City young people as paid interns in area businesses, Working For Youth's Hire KC program has received 900 applications to date.

As a former intern himself, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas knows the value of the career exploration that internships can provide. Of his time in Mayor Kay Barnes' office, Lucas recalls, "It told me, 'Wait a second, maybe it's the sort of thing that I can do.'" A current intern describes his experience, and the senior director of Hire KC explains how the program works.

Quinton Lucas, mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
William Dowdell, senior director of the KC Social Innovation Center and Hire KC
Bryce Graskemper, HireKC intern, UMKC student and Marine Corps veteran

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Up To Date Podcast Kansas City Missouri (KCMO)Quinton Lucas youth urban jobs employment

Steve Kraske

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.

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Chris Young

Chris Young is an Assistant Producer for KCUR’s Up To Date. Contact him at chrisy@kcur.org.

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Danie Alexander

As senior producer of Up To Date, I want our listeners to hear familiar and new voices that shine light on the issues and challenges facing the myriad communities KCUR serves, and to expose our audiences to the wonderful and the creative in the Kansas City area. Just as important to me is an obligation to mentor the next generation of producers to ensure that the important conversations continue. Reach me at alexanderdk@kcur.org.

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