Westminster Students Shadow Kansas City Nonprofit Organizations

Beau Thompson, ‘20, Seth Cline, ‘20, and Cristo Tavares, ‘20, are three students who participated in the Kansas City Non-Profit Shadow Day.

By Lucy Krejci

Seven Westminster Students recently spent the day shadowing nonprofit organizations in Kansas City.

Lauren Bell, ‘20, Madison Ekern, ‘20, Beau Thompson, ‘20, Madison Ingram, ‘20, Seth Cline, ‘20, Brooke Laidley, ‘20, and Cristo Tabares, ‘20, along with more than 100 other students from local colleges and universities participated in the event.

The day started at 8:30 a.m. with a networking breakfast at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center and followed with a young nonprofit professionals’ panel. Then, based on their interests, students were sent to a selected nonprofit organization for a day of learning and networking.

Companies such as Children’s Mercy, ArtsKC, Starlight Theatre, Kauffman Foundation, Wayside Waifs, the Kansas City Zoo and so many more opened their doors to allow students to get an up-close look at the interworkings of a nonprofit.

The Kansas City Alumni Council represented by Liz Icenogle, ’05, graciously paid for all Westminster student application fees, which allowed our students to experience a workday in their dream job and develop connections in the nonprofit community.

Ekern, who shadowed Elaine Metcalf and Tiffany Weyant at ProDeo Youth Center, says the non-profit shadow day was a great opportunity that everyone should experience. “I learned a lot about all of the unique aspects of non-profit work and the range of things you can do,” she says. “Learning about ProDeo and youth centers was a helpful tool for me. I’m still in the process of setting plans for after graduation and this experience helped me get a better understanding of potential opportunities.”

Ingram shadowed Stephanie Lankford at the Kansas City Sports Commission/WIN for KC and says she enjoyed the experience. “I got to meet some really great people and this experience helped me figure out what I want to do post graduation. Luckily, Westminster paid for the application fee so that I was able to experience something so impactful and fun,” Ingram says.

The annual Kansas City nonprofit shadow event is brought to our students by the Student Success Center and Center for Career Development. Information regarding the 2020 shadow event will be released next fall. Please contact [email protected] for further information.