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Plano summer interns practice problem-solving and volunteerism at Capital One ‘Enrichment Day’

The winning KidEx team from L to R: Avinash Damania, Quynh-Chi Dang, Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere, Quynh-Anh Dang and Anjana Chowidah.
Capital One Enrichment Day KidEx Mayor
The winning KidEx team from L to R: Avinash Damania, Quynh-Chi Dang, Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere, Quynh-Anh Dang and Anjana Chowidah.

Capital One recently hosted more than 75 high school students from the Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program (PMSIP) and National Academy Foundation (NAF) for its Enrichment Day program. In addition to a tour of Capital One’s 136-acre Plano campus, interns were able to practice innovative thinking and experience the reward of giving back to the community.

The all-day program helps interns develop professional skills for the 21st century through teamwork, a problem-solving exercise and several group activities.

Competition was fierce between the teams of students. In the morning, interns competed in a problem-solving exercise, modeled after the popular reality television show “Shark Tank.” The interns were divided into groups and presented with a real-world transportation problem faced by The Samaritan Inn. Through design-based thinking, each group developed innovative solutions to present to a panel of judges that included Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere, Capital One associates and Rick Crocker, CEO of The Samaritan Inn.

Capital One Enrichment Day KidEx Mayor
Plano Mayor LaRosiliere and the 2016 interns.

The winning team, KidEx came up with a community carpool app, which won the judges over, including the mayor who said, “It’s easy to lose the sense of community in a world-class city. This app allows that small community feel.” The mayor mentioned he would be bringing the ideas to the city council meeting this week.

During lunch time, Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere hosted a trivia contest with the students. Questions included facts from the State of the City Address to the mayor’s favorite rapper (Biggie Smalls). NAF intern for Capital One, Isaias Huesa, of Conrad High School won first place in the trivia, taking home a $100 gift card to The Shops at Willow Bend. The second and third place winners also took home gift cards to Urban Crust and Amazon.

Following a trivia contest, Enrichment Day included a volunteer activity as part of Capital One’s efforts to raise awareness among the interns of the importance and value of volunteerism. Each intern made a teddy bear to donate to a patient at Children’s Medical Center Plano. During this activity, Capital One shared more about its culture of giving back through its Place-Based and Future Edge Initiatives.

As part of its Future Edge initiative, Capital One is committed to helping people, including DFW-area students, develop skills for the 21st century. Through Future Edge, Capital One is focusing $150 million over five years to help more Americans succeed in a digital economy.

Capital One is passionate about and actively supports internships related to education and workforce development, both in college and high school. This is Capital One’s third year to partner with PMSIP, and Capital One is a longtime supporter of NAF. Enrichment Day provides an extension to the internship programs by providing a real-life understanding of a successful business, including the emphasis companies like Capital One put on giving back to communities where their employees live and work. By participating in team-building exercises and interacting with Capital One associates, interns will receive the tools, knowledge and encouragement to reach for levels of achievement and careers they might not have considered before participating and be encouraged to give back to the community.

Read more about the 2016 Plano Mayor Summer Internship Program by using the keywords “summer internship” in the search bar at planoprofile.com.