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What Students Can Gain from a Summer Business Internship

AGB Foundation Summer Business interns assist at holiday benefit

Slinging burgers and bagging groceries can be great summer jobs for teenagers. But for high school and college students looking to explore career options, a summer business internship is an even better choice. Why? Because the experience it offers can better position young people to enter the work force after graduation.

The AGB Foundation is a Chicago nonprofit that offers a Summer Business Internship program with paid summer jobs for deserving youth. The foundation’s mission is ambitious: to train the next generation of local business leaders.

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” explains Dr. Denitra Griffin, Ed. D., president of the AGB Foundation. “A lot of research supports the lack of minorities in CEO positions. If you give children the opportunity to shadow an executive, even for one day, you can change their mindsets about what they are capable of doing with their lives.”

What are the benefits of a summer business internship?

An internship offers several advantages to young adults, including:

  • opportunities to improve communication and teamwork skills.
  • exposure to the internal operations of a successful business.
  • hands-on experience in a variety of different business departments.
  • insight into possible career paths.
  • opportunities to build relationships, network, and earn references.
  • professional work experience to include on a resume.

The AGB Foundation Summer Business Internship is a six-week program that rotates students through various departments of a business, nonprofit, or public organization. Last summer, the pilot program was at AGB’s offices on the South side of Chicago. This year, Griffin would like to expand the program to other companies, including insurance agencies, public relations firms, law practices, and accounting firms.

Griffin created the foundation as an offshoot of AGB Investigative Services, Inc. Her husband John Griffin founded the company in 2001, and it employs more than 200 security professionals. AGB stands for “Always Giving Back,” and that’s exactly what the couple intends to do with their internship program and other foundation initiatives.

For more information about the AGB Foundation Summer Business Program, visit their website. If you would like to sponsor this program of become a partner, please contact the AGB Foundation.