Remember the first paycheck you received out of college? Remember how those first days at work made you feel, sporting your new, professional outfits: uncertain, excited, then confident? Remember slowly learning the ins and outs of workplace culture, adopting the jargon that is now second nature, and discovering the moments when you loved what you were doing—and what you definitely didn’t? Think about how that first job launched you into the professional world and influenced the trajectory of your career path.

For 650 Boston teens each year, MLK Scholars provides professional readiness opportunities through meaningful work experience of 20 hours per week or more.  The John Hancock-funded program places teens at some 70 organizations across the city, including John Hancock, Partners Healthcare, and the Museum of Science. Learning to work among professionals, take on responsibilities, and grow self-confidence are some of the many valuable takeaways MLK Scholars can expect.

Twice a month, the scholars attend Mayor Menino Leadership Forums in order to augment their experience, listening to community leaders share their career success stories, and participating in workshops with their peers on everything from financial literacy to career readiness.

A win-win-win, the MLK Scholars program—named for the inspirational values and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.—serves Boston from the perspectives of the scholars, the communities where they work, and eventually, the organizations that hire them.

Self growth

Carrie Mays, a 17-year-old from Dorchester, has spent the last four summers as an MLK Scholar. Looking back on her first summer in the program, she remembers feeling shy and insecure.

A lifelong singer and dancer, Mays says “My first year, I didn’t do the MLK Scholars talent show.” But by her second year, she joined the show, “and I killed it,” she says, smiling.

Her confidence grew, she says, through her MLK Scholar internship at The Center for Teen Empowerment, a nonprofit that helps youth hone their understanding of social problems and create change in Boston and Somerville neighborhoods. Mays helped organize and host solution-based discussions and events ranging from Black Lives Matter protests, to dialogues on racism with the police, to community movie nights and barbeques.

At the Friday forums Mays says she developed her relationship building and public speaking skills, as well as her career plan. “It’s very future action oriented,” she says. “We talk about who we want to become in the future, how to become who we want in the future, what our resources are, and what the challenges we have to address are.”

“What makes the difference for you?” MLK Scholars share their thoughts at a Mayor Menino Leadership Forum.

Through the forums, Mays, a self-described “activist at heart and artist at soul,” discovered she wants to become a marketing executive or entrepreneur one day, both paths in which she can incorporate her interest in business, creativity, and passion for social justice. She is currently applying to college, where she plans to major in business in pursuit of this dream. Or more accurately, this goal: “My dream is now a goal that I will turn into a reality because of MLK Scholars,” Mays says.

Internship experience is key in securing a job these days. Look Sharp’s 2016 State of Millennial Hiring Report found a strong correlation between having at least one internship and improved job prospects after college. And more than 80 percent of graduates reported internships helped them shift career directions either significantly or slightly. But with nearly half of internships being unpaid, they can exclude low-income students who need to earn money over the summers, leavingthem at a systematic disadvantage.

Community support

Each summer, MLK Scholars are hired at The Boys and Girls Club Teen Center at Mattapan, which provides a safe haven for teens to mature and form relationships with adults who guide them in the areas of health and wellness, academic success, good character, and good citizenship. There’s also a tech room, foosball and pool tables, and a state-of-the-art recording studio at the center—big draws for students who might otherwise forgo structured extracurricular activities.

The Mattapan Teen Center employs just six full-time staff members, so “to bring on 10 vibrant, capable 16-, 17-, 18-year-olds to help assist is hugely helpful,” says Ron Carroll, director of the center, especially during the summer, their busiest season.

“They become our junior staff,” Carroll says. They help take attendance, prepare the space for the day’s activities, set a good example for others by putting their phones away and asking questions during presentations, and ultimately help the Teen Center achieve its mission and better serve the community.

Plus, as a nonprofit, “you’re constantly fundraising to keep the lights on,” Carroll says. Recognizing this, the MLK Scholars program provides a $1,825 stipend for each intern awarded to participating organizations. “To be able to seek out other sources of income, that also adds value to the young people who are working for this organization, it lightens the load,” he says.

Part of that stipend also goes toward paying the MLK Scholars themselves. “Many of them might buy a pair of sneakers with the money that they earn, but many are also helping to pay light bills or bring some food into the house,” says Carroll. Their salary helps them learn independence, how to be fiscally responsibility, and what it means to contribute to their families.

“From the beginning of the summer to the end of the summer you see tremendous growth,” notes Carroll. “The job security and the soft skills that they learn while they’re here are amazing for them and help catapult them into the world. As they get older they’ll be able to go out there and really add value to the workforce.”

Building the Pipeline

To put it simply, “if more and more students are mentored and receive experiential learning before theyenter the workforce we will have a more experienced, productive, and successful workforce,” says Lou Gaglini, executive director of the Center for Career Development at Boston University.

Internships help students learn many of the transferable skills employers across industries are looking for, Gaglini says, including the ability to use digital technology, leadership skills, professionalism, and a strong work ethic. In a fast-changing economy, where tomorrow’s employees are likely to hold more jobs in more industries than previous generations, these transferable skills are invaluable.

When Kristin Ezekiel, director of campus recruiting and strategic sourcing at John Hancock, interviews students for full-time roles, “we really try to look for students who have had prior co-op or internship experience,” she says. It indicates that new hires will acclimate more successfully to office fundamentals, such as having conversations with managers, getting feedback, and “even just sending emails,” Ezekiel says. “A lot of people aren’t addressing an email formally because they’re sending emails from their iPhones these days.”

“Those who have had internships and co-op assignments tend to get promoted quicker, excel faster, and outperform their peers,” says Ezekiel, whose team recruits between 700 and 800 students every year.  And since they’ve had the opportunity to try out different careers, they’re more likely to apply for roles that are a fit, minimizing turnover. That passion for an industry or role is important and apparent to interviewers, Ezekiel notes.

MLK Scholars, “to us at John Hancock, is a feeder for full-time programs,” Ezekiel says. “We actually tap into our student pipeline before we even go out to university campuses for new students.” And upper management plans to increase hiring from this pool in the coming years, she says.

That’s a cross-industry trend right now. “More and more organizations are hiring through internship programs,” Gaglini says. “They view it as a positive investment.”