How the ProX Internship Changed My Life for the Better
In the two years I have participated in ProX I have attained skills, talents, and ambitions that I do not believe I would have had the chance to dream of or work for had I not been introduced to the ProX internship.
By: Joshua Collins, Class of 2026
I want to share about an experience that I can confidently say has changed my life for the better: the ProX internship here in Kansas City. I first heard about the internship from an email from Mr. Peterie to all the students in my freshman year.
From inbox to impact
Initially, I ignored this email and it sat in my inbox, but little did I know the email also went to our parents, and after what felt like hours of debating with my mom — something that unfortunately Mrs. Reynolds’ novice debate class could not have prepared me for — I was going to participate in the ProX internship that summer.
Now, for people who know me, they know that I have a deep interest in politics and law, so when I looked at the internships I could apply for, the top of my list was a courthouse where I hoped to learn the ins and outs of the law system. Finally, the interview day came. It took place on the same day as Comic-Con where I would be going later that day with two of my closest friends. With this in mind, I knew I would need to be fast in the interview process. When I got into the interview hall, the line for the courthouse internship was very long. Just a few booths away I recognized one of my old teachers from St. Agnes, Dr. Shelley Cooper.
Since leaving St. Agnes, she had started three local Kansas City businesses: Come On Now, Diversity Telehealth, and Remodel Relief. Dr. Cooper was there taking interviews for people to intern at her company, Diversity Telehealth. We had a great five-minute interview, and Dr. Cooper offered me an internship with her company.
Learning by doing
The unique thing about the ProX interview process is that a person has to accept or decline an offer when it is offered. Even though I had wanted to take an internship that focused on law, I took the opportunity that I was offered and was ready to make the best of it. This ended up being one of the best decisions that I have made. Even though I did not learn much about law throughout this internship, there are many more applicable skills I gained and more lessons learned as well.
Dr. Cooper gave us interns an opportunity to directly learn about the community and the problems faced by taking us to different health fairs to talk with community members about healthcare and how Diversity Telehealth’s unique online platform could help solve modern healthcare challenges. One observation I have made is that the most noble, the most successful politicians and lawyers have a unique ability to empathize with others and meet them where they are. This is a skill I had a unique ability to learn, practice, and show working with Dr. Cooper.
Networking, tech, and global collaboration during the ProX internship
Another valuable skill Dr. Cooper instilled in me was the importance of connecting with people and building up our networks. She made me and the other interns create LinkedIn accounts so that we could easily market ourselves and our accomplishments while also connecting with others who can help us and we can help too. She went a step further and included us in her business meetings and offered us opportunities to meet and connect with the people she works with. For example, she let us sit in and contribute to a meeting with her and her main website designer stationed in India.
The ProX experience was one of the most unique internships to ever experience. Every week we had what were called Professional Development Days, where we sat through multiple presentations focused on helping shape our futures. The session I most enjoyed was the finance session, hosted by Prentiss Earl III from Community America. He provided a fresh experience clearly explaining the importance of money and how to make it work for me. After two years of this, I wanted to pursue an undergraduate degree in economics to form a greater understanding of money and how it works after Mr. Earl sparked an interest in me through his weekly economic sessions.
From stage fright to stage wins
At the end of the five weeks, every business intern recorded a pitch in front of judges, and the top seven gave their presentations again in front of the whole ProX organization for the chance of a $5,000 prize split among the winning group. That summer day, I was very nervous to go on stage in front of all those people to present. Once I got on stage, my nerves calmed very slowly, and to be honest, the entire presentation was a blur. I remember walking on stage and walking off, but not much in between. At the end of the night, my team’s pitch on improvements to the Diversity Telehealth website won the pitch competition.
Last summer, I participated in the internship again, with another Miege junior Jack Gelhaus, and once again we made it to the final stage presentation. This time I was not nervous, but more ecstatic about the chance to win two years in a row. I was much calmer and prepared because I had been there before and had acquired better public speaking skills through the ProX program. I was also much more passionate because our presentation was about creating positive change through making healthcare more accessible and putting real challenges and issues people face at the forefront of the conversation. That summer, Jack and I won the internship.
Looking ahead with gratitude
All the skills I gained through ProX were amazing, but the biggest challenge when we attained new skills was how to apply them. To some people, this may seem like a silly little internship that people can make some money from, and I’ll admit at first that is exactly what I thought it would be. But in the two years I have participated in ProX I have attained skills, talents, and ambitions that I do not believe I would have had the chance to dream of or work for had I not been introduced to the ProX program.
When looking back at my time in the ProX program, I am left with one final thought. That is a true and sincere thank you to God. I truly believe that the last two years He was with me — whether it be an email from Mr. Peterie, an argument with my mom, interviewing with Dr. Cooper, or winning the ProX internship twice. In the last two years, I have been more completely shaped as a person and have a much clearer vision of what I want my future to look like and the problems I want to help solve. At the end of the day, it is important to be grateful and humble in the face of victory and give everything you receive back to God.