After three years of KIPP DC & Highstreet Internships, the future is bright. Each year, Highstreet onboards two or three high school students attending KIPP DC: College Preparatory. Offering early professional experience to college bound students allows Highstreet to reinvest in our community. Founded by Highstreet’s CEO Nick Magliato, this partnership program is close to his heart. A title I school in Washington D.C., KIPP DC empowers the next next generation through the development of knowledge, skills, and confidence. Each year Highstreet employees have the opportunity to mentor and invest in these students, enjoying their energy and fresh perspective along the way. This year we had the pleasure of working with Keven Hernandez-Diaz and Jermoni Benson. You can read more about Highstreet’s partnership with KIPP DC and 2021’s high school interns here.
KIPP DC: College Preparatory
Kevin Hernandez-Diaz
A recent graduate from Kipp College Preparatory High School, Kevin Hernandez-Diaz plans on majoring in Finance and/or Accounting at Arizona State University. This summer, Kevin was under the mentorship of Pam Mentzer, Highstreet’s Financial Operations Manager, in the Finance department. He was referred to the program by his KIPP Finance Academy Director who saw growth in him throughout his high school career and took on this opportunity to gain more experience.
Kevin set the personal goal to broaden his understanding of the world of finance, as well as strengthening his problem-solving skills.
Throughout the course of the internship, he learned how to navigate Excel as he worked on projects that forecasted revenue. In his free time, Kevin enjoys watching movies, doing theater, and playing games.
Kevin stated “this was my first time being with Highstreet and I’m enjoying it.” The Highstreet team appreciates all of Kevin’s contributions to the finance department and wishes him the best at Arizona State University!
Jermoni Benson
A poet featured on Amazon Documentaries and noticed by famous authors, Jermoni Benson is an incoming freshman at Xavier University of Louisiana from KIPP College Preparatory High School. While being a high achieving scholar, Jermoni prides herself on motivating others to express themselves at their highest level. During the summer Jermoni spends her free time working at a summer camp to strengthen the minds of 6 and 7 year old children through poetry and art expression.
Jermoni Benson works closely with Natalie Zeltman, Highstreet’s Marketing and Brand Specialist, in the Marketing department. Jermoni is a Biology major and hopes to be a surgeon one day. However, she is also interested in Marketing as another career path for her. Jermoni joined Highstreet’s Intern Program to gain business professional work experience. This with the hopes of sharing her creativity and expanding her horizons. She wanted to explore the possibility of working in the business field one day. Her main summer project was to develop creative captions for Highstreet’s US, Canada, and India holiday social media posts.
“It is easy to get comfortable in one thing, but at Highstreet you must stay open to trying new opportunities.” Thank you Jermoni for your advice to future interns!
In Closing
To cap off their internships, each intern led a presentation for Highstreet’s HR Team and C-level employees including Highstreet’s CEO, Nick Magliato. Highstreet appreciates its interns and is excited to continue building on our three years of KIPP DC & Highstreet internships. High school students aren’t the only interns at Highstreet this summer. We also have a college Internship Program. If you’re interested in becoming an intern for Highstreet, please reach out to HumanResources@HighstreetIT.com.
