Students prepare for careers at “Imagine the Possibilities Summit”

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Leaders in business, government, and education gathered for a summit to help prepare students for careers in Northeast Mississippi.

The “Imagine the Possibilities Summit” was held at the Orchard Church in Tupelo. The event is a chance for schools, businesses, and community members to see the resources available for high school students.

The audience heard from a New Albany High School Senior who was part of a paid internship with the local government. Her story is one example of programs in place to help students better prepare for their future.

“It is an option we have to take college and career readiness with a paid internship included, my internship was at the New Albany Main Street Association Office. In that position, I got to assist in the planning of events in our city, and got to attend board meetings and interact with our city’s mayor and aldermen and see how the city runs as far as politics goes,” said Alea Hudson, New Albany High School senior.

“Our mindset now is we really have to make an investment in growing our own. The way of recruiting, say ten, fifteen, or twenty years ago, is you set up shop, people would come to you but now you really have to have initiatives and strategies to go out and engage young folks and folks in the workforce to attract them to you,” said Kevin Burgess, Toyota Mississippi.

The ITP Summit was presented by the Toyota Wellspring Education Fund and the CREATE Foundation.

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