13-04-2025
Record number of students finish Frank K. Spain internships
TUPELO – A record 67 students from 11 schools served as interns in various businesses and organizations related to their career paths this spring through the Frank K. Spain Internship Program, and this week they shared their experiences at a ceremony recognizing their participation.
The students were paid interns who worked 100 hours through the internship program, which was created through a foundation set up in the entrepreneur's name. The students were from Biggersville, Corinth, East Union, Houston, Ingomar, Kossuth, New Albany, Pontotoc, Saltillo, Tupelo HS and West Union, and their career pathways included arts/audio visual, communication; education; health sciences; hospitality; human services; information technology; law and public safety; and manufacturing.
Stewart McMillan, project manager at the CREATE Foundation, said each participant was 18 years old and had to meet several requirements to take part.
"The career coaches help identify and develop these students. They had to have taken the YouScience Assessment, achieved a Silver or above on the WorkKeys Assessment, participated in the virtual career expo and completed a job shadow experience with the host site," she said.
Among the 47 students who attended the event was Lily Hale, a Pontotoc High School senior who interned at the M.B. Mayfield House Museum in Ecru. The home of the landscape and portrait artist was purchased in 2020 and has since been preserved.
Her internship was ideal, as she will be majoring in history.
"I was allowed to take inventory of artifacts and create a spreadsheet outlining that," Hale said. "I also had the opportunity to speak at the University of Mississippi museum during a reception.
"I have learned about graphic design, which I did not fully realize was such a big part of the museum process. And I increased my skills in public speaking. As I move from Mississippi to Missouri for college, these skills will help in my college years. The documentation that I learned to complete will help me as I obtain my degree."
Students in the Frank K. Spain internship complete 100 hours of internship preparation and experience. The first 15 hours of the paid experience involved attending classes at an approved community college with partnerships currently at the Itawamba Community College Belden campus and Northeast Community College Corinth campus. The next 85 hours are paid experience at the internship site coordinated based on the student and host site schedule.
Some students complete their hours during the school week, while others predominantly focus on school holidays.
The students were paid via the Frank K. Spain Foundation.
"We hope we can continue to spread the story," McMillan said. "We would love to expand and be in all 17 counties. We want to expand our partnerships.'
