Hire a Cooke Scholar Intern in 2025

We are celebrating the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s 25th anniversary with a new era of Cooke Scholar and Alumni community engagement. With the launch of the Alumni-sponsored Internship Campaign, we are calling on Alums to give back to the community by connecting Scholars to career-building internships for our anniversary summer 2025 and beyond.

Hire. Mentor. Champion. Together, we will build our future.

Why Hire a Cooke Scholar Intern?

Whether you are the CEO, a hiring manager, or a staff member shaping the future of your organization, you have wisdom and influence to help Scholars building their careers. You know what it is like to be a Cooke Scholar and may relate as a first-gen professional. Your organization also has business needs, like that long list of “if-only-we-had-time” projects, that smart, talented, hard-working Scholar interns will tackle – exceeding expectations.

Did you know? Cooke Scholars*

• Graduate with an average GPA of 3.67

• Attend over 190 colleges and universities, including HBCU’s, minority-serving institutions, Ivy League colleges, and other top-performing institutions across the nation

• Over 55% identify as first in their family to attend college

• Major in a diverse array of disciplines with computer science, political science, and economics being most popular

* To learn more about undergraduate Cooke Scholars, visit our data dashboard and latest Annual Report brief.

You Can Have an Impact

• Hire a Cooke Scholar summer intern directly

• Connect Scholars to hiring managers in your organization

• Assist in arranging for Scholars’ applications to be reviewed

• Reach out to your network to secure opportunities at other organizations

• Spread the word about the Cooke Scholar talent pool

• Share this one-page flyer about the internship campaign with others in your organization and across your network

What Qualifies as a Summer Internship?

• Full-time summer work experiences that engage Scholars in skills development, career insights, and networking that will help prepare them for professional work in their chosen fields.

• Occurs between May and August with a full-time schedule for at least 8-10 weeks.

• In-person, hybrid, or fully-remote internships with fully-remote organizations. Students have reported stronger mentorship experiences with in-person interactions.

• Hiring organizations may be for-profit, nonprofit, or government agencies. University research positions may qualify.

• For-profit internships must be paid by the employer. Unpaid internships at organizations with 501(c)(3) status may qualify for the Foundation’s summer internship stipend.

• Work may be U.S.-based or international. To qualify for the Foundation’s internship stipend, organizations must have 501(c)(3) status with the IRS.

1. Share an Opportunity to send us details about the summer internship(s) you would like to advertise to Cooke Scholars. Opportunities may include:

• A full-time summer internship exclusive or strongly promoted to Cooke Scholars.

  • If it’s at a nonprofit or governmental organization, Scholars may be eligible for the Foundation’s $6,000 internship stipend – at no cost to your organization. We also welcome paid internships with for-profit companies.

• A publicly advertised full-time summer internship open to non-Scholars.

  • We ask Alums to use your influence to assist in arranging for Scholars’ applications to be reviewed and/or for qualified Scholars to be interviewed.

2. We will promote your internship opportunities to our talent pool of Cooke Scholars via our Job Board, LinkedIn group, and other targeted communications. Want to host a recruitment activity? We make it easy for your organization to meet Scholars via virtual info sessions or campus-specific activities. Contact us at internships@jkcf.org for more details.

3. We will alert you and/or the hiring manager of any Cooke Scholars who indicate they are applying for your internships.

4. You or the hiring manager hire the candidate who best fits your needs. We hope it’s a Cooke Scholar and think that you will have exceptional Scholar candidates to choose from. However, the hiring decision is fully yours.

1. Not sure if you have an internship opportunity to share? Have questions about how to connect Scholars to internships in your company? Contact us to brainstorm ideas and answer questions.

2. Would you like to host a recruiting event? We will connect you with interested Scholars.

3. Don’t have the funds to support an intern at your nonprofit organization, university, or government agency? Contact us to see if your organization qualifies for Scholars to receive the $6,000 summer internship stipend.

4. Need help in communicating with hiring colleagues? We can provide you with materials to make the case for hosting a Cooke Scholar intern at your organization.

And more…

Email Jennifer Krasilovsky, Dean of Career Services, at internships@jkcf.org.