Building Confidence, Skills, and Career Connections: ProX Interns Thrive at KU Edwards

Four Kansas City-area high school students spent five weeks at the KU Edwards Campus this summer exploring careers and building professional skills through a partnership between KU’s School of Professional Studies and ProX (opens in a new tab), a real-world initiatives program.

Created in 2021, ProX focuses on providing career exploration, skill development, and professional exposure to Kansas City-area high school students while contributing to the local workforce. The program is supported by the DeBruce Foundation and the Kauffman Foundation.

The 2026 interns — Yash Saluja, Ahana Chhattani, Giselle Boliere and Jhanvi Nakka — came from Blue Valley West and Olathe East high schools.

During the five-week paid internship, the interns gathered each Monday for professional skills and workplace readiness sessions led by ProX, then spent the remainder of each week working with their assigned partner organization.

According to Dr. Gary Broils, director of Project Management programs, who oversaw the summer program, the interns worked on projects tied to KU Edwards academic programs and campus support areas while taking part in a variety of professional development activities through a capstone experience.

“The interns worked with nearly every area of campus,” said Ashley Kalatusha, student services specialist. “They interacted with Criminal Justice, Organizational Communications, Project Management, facilities, events and student services. They collected soil samples for a Biotechnology project, designed room layouts, planned a social media campaign, and practiced networking and career planning.”

Learning to navigate “hidden agendas”

Throughout the internship, the students explored the concept of “hidden agendas” — the unspoken expectations that can influence success, whether in school, college, social settings, or the workplace. “We talked about preparing yourselves to overcome them with skills like taking responsibility, communicating clearly, and self-advocating,” Broils said.

The internship concluded with a capstone presentation to KU Edwards Campus faculty and staff. Interns explained the hidden agendas they identified in high school, reflected on the lessons they learned during the internship, and discussed how those insights will help them succeed in college and their future careers.

An experience that exceeded expectations

The students said the experience exceeded their expectations.

“This internship taught me so much and helped me improve not only as a student but as a person,” said Saluja.

“I loved my experience, and it was very meaningful,” said Chhattani. “Thank you so much for having us at KU Edwards.”

“This was a great experience,” Boliere said.

“This was a great experience for all of us,” Broils said. “We definitely want to do it again next year and host more student interns.”

To learn more about programs and partnerships at the KU Edwards Campus, visit KU’s School of Professional Studies. For details about the ProX program, visit ProX (opens in a new tab).