As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” The same principle of thoughtful preparation is at the heart of The Immokalee Foundation’s four-week summer Career Pathways experience, where each opportunity is the result of 11 months of careful planning and intentional design.
This summer, more than 132 students took part in one of seven immersive, experiential learning programs at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and other locations across Southwest Florida:
• Middle School STEM Camp
• Healthcare Pathway Camp
• Business Management & Entrepreneurship Pathway Camp
• Education & Human Services Pathway Camp
• Engineering & Construction Management Pathway Camp
• Collier County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Academy
• Paid Internships
These transformative experiences do more than prevent summer learning loss; they accelerate personal, academic, and professional growth, preparing students for long-term success.
But what many don’t see is the months of planning, collaboration, and coordination that make these opportunities possible. To take you behind the scenes, we sat down with members of The Immokalee Foundation’s Programs team for a Q&A on what it takes to bring this remarkable summer experience to life.
When does planning for the summer programs begin?
Summer planning for the following year begins almost immediately after the current summer program ends. While students are celebrating their accomplishments, our team is already evaluating what worked well and identifying opportunities for improvement. We gather feedback from students, parents, staff, internship partners, and university partners to understand their experiences and recommendations. We review program outcomes, attendance, logistics, transportation, and curriculum to determine what changes can make the following summer even more impactful. Our goal is to continuously improve so that each year provides students with an even better experience than the last.
What are some of the biggest tasks your team works on before the summer programs start?
One of the largest tasks is coordinating with all our partners to build each summer program from the ground up. This includes developing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), confirming community partnerships, working closely with FGCU faculty and departments, developing curriculum, creating program schedules, finalizing contracts, and ensuring every component aligns with our vision and student outcomes.
We also spend countless hours confirming student enrollment, assigning staff, planning events, preparing materials, coordinating transportation, and making sure every detail is in place before the first day. While students see a seamless program, there are months of planning behind every activity and opportunity.
How do you coordinate schedules, staff, and transportation?
Organization is key to a successful summer. We use a comprehensive online planning document as our central hub for virtually every detail of the summer. It includes daily schedules, staff assignments, opening and closing responsibilities, transportation assignments, pathway groupings, classroom locations, lunches, special events, and emergency backup plans.
We intentionally assign “floaters” throughout the schedule so there is always someone available to provide additional support when unexpected situations arise. Since our students participate in multiple programs simultaneously, including the FGCU Summer Camps, Internships, Leadership Collier, FGCU Digital Badge, FSU STRIDE, Deerwood Camp, and Kingsley Pines, our scheduling requires careful coordination.
Transportation is another major undertaking. We work closely with local transport companies and use our vans to ensure everything is scheduled appropriately while balancing student numbers, staff supervision, pathway assignments, travel times, and daily logistics. Every transportation decision is carefully planned to ensure students arrive safely and on time.
What goes into preparing the summer programs with FGCU?
Preparing programs with FGCU is a collaborative process that involves months of planning and regular meetings with faculty and departments across the University. Together, we identify the goals and learning outcomes for each Career Pathway to ensure students receive meaningful, hands-on experiences that connect directly to career exploration.
Once the vision is established, we work together to build engaging curriculum, identify guest speakers, coordinate classroom space, develop activities, schedule campus resources, and finalize daily agendas. Every experience is intentionally designed to expose students to college life while helping them build confidence, develop professional skills, and explore future careers.
What goes into preparing internships?
Preparing students for internships begins long before they report to their worksite. Students first complete professional resumes, which are individually reviewed and refined with feedback from our staff. They participate in mock interviews to build confidence and strengthen their interviewing skills.
Prior to beginning their internships, students complete a week-long Workplace Readiness Training where they learn professional communication, teamwork, workplace etiquette, time management, problem-solving, and other essential employability skills. Upon completion, students earn the Fundamentals in Workplace Readiness FGCU Digital Badge, recognizing the skills they have developed.
Preparation also includes hosting a Junior Parent Meeting to ensure families understand internship expectations, schedules, transportation, workplace professionalism, and attendance requirements.
Behind the scenes, we spend months networking with community partners, collaborating with the Philanthropy team, and other corporate partners to identify internship opportunities, matching students with placements that align with their career interests, conducting site visits, completing agreements, coordinating schedules, discussing dress code expectations, arranging onboarding requirements, and ensuring all necessary paperwork is completed before students begin.
What are some behind-the-scenes details that most people never see?
Many people only see students arriving at their internships or summer programs, but there is an incredible amount of work happening behind the scenes.
Our team shops for professional clothing and safety equipment to ensure every student is appropriately dressed for their workplace. Whether it’s purchasing steel-toe boots for construction internships, scrubs for healthcare experiences, or professional business attire for corporate offices, we work to remove barriers so every student can feel confident on their first day.
There is also extensive administrative work that includes collecting required paperwork, coordinating drug screenings and background requirements when necessary, tracking student documentation, communicating with parents, maintaining ongoing contact with internship supervisors, confirming transportation, adjusting schedules, and troubleshooting last-minute changes.
The days start as early as 5:45 a.m. to ensure all students are transported to multiple locations across Southwest Florida.
Every detail is managed to ensure students can focus on learning and succeeding.
Is there anything you’re especially proud of that people may not realize about the preparation process?
One thing we are especially proud of is how intentional every decision is. Our team doesn’t simply place students into programs. We invest time in getting to know each student’s interests, strengths, goals, and aspirations so we can connect them with opportunities that will have the greatest impact on their future.
What people may not realize is that the success students experience during the summer is the result of months of collaboration, planning, problem-solving, and relationship-building with schools, universities, community organizations, employers, and families. It truly takes a village and we are so grateful to all those who make it happen.
The most rewarding part is watching students grow in confidence throughout the summer. Seeing them develop professionally, discover new career interests, build meaningful relationships with mentors, and leave believing in themselves reminds us why all of the preparation is worth it. Those moments make every meeting, phone call, spreadsheet, and late-night planning session meaningful.
