Veteran North Cross School teacher Malcolm Douglas watched Roanoke transform into a hub for outdoor recreation lovers and related businesses and felt inspired. He thought, ‘What if students could gain real-world experience and reap the benefits of that economic dynamism?’
The idea blossomed into a forward-thinking summer internship program that plugs 10th–12th graders at the school into roles with dozens of prominent area businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. Learners work with advisors to explore options that align with their interests and prospective career paths. Future thespians, for example, may join the Mill Mountain Theatre production team. Would-be scientists can help with groundbreaking research—like a push to create health-boosting, pasteurization-stable probiotics for dairy products at biosolutions innovator, Novozymes.
Administrators like communications director Melissa Hammond, celebrate the program as helping “students gain useful work experience and connections.”
This article originally appeared in the April 2026 issue.
