Richardson is looking to bring back the Mayor’s Summer Internship Program as a city-run initiative.
City Council approved a feasibility study on Nov. 2 to evaluate how the program could work under city management and whether it can be implemented in 2027 or 2028.
The overview
The Mayor’s Summer Internship Program connects high school juniors with paid internship opportunities at companies, nonprofits and government agencies. Richardson ISD first launched the program in 2018 in partnership with the city and Richardson Chamber of Commerce.
RISD worked with the nonprofit Education is Freedom to manage the program for six summers, hosting an average of 50 students each year, City Manager Don Magner said. In winter 2023, RISD announced that it would discontinue the program due to budget constraints.
Richardson could bring back the Mayor’s Summer Internship Program as a city-run project in partnership with RISD, Magner said. Magner recommended that the city engage a consultant to conduct a 30-day feasibility study to determine the organizational, financial and operational requirements to establish the program.
“RISD does not have a summer internship program today,” Mayor Amir Omar said. “This would be an opportunity for us to help RISD and our residents have an option going forward.”
The approach
Richardson’s new internship program could follow Plano’s model for its Mayor’s Summer Internship Program, which is run through the city and managed by its nonprofit group Plano Improvement Corporation.
Plano invested an initial $130,000 into the program to support fundraising efforts, Magner said, and the program is now funded through sponsorships and donations. In 2026, the Plano program served 91 interns with a budget of $292,500, Magner said.
Richardson has its own Richardson Improvement Corporation, a nonprofit that supports community development in the city and that Magner said could manage the internship program in the same model as Plano.
Public input
Richardson High School senior Sean de Miranda told council that students want opportunities to do real work in their community, which the Mayor’s Summer Internship Program could provide. De Miranda said he joined Omar’s student advisory committee in search of real-world work in his chosen path of architecture.
“The UTD student advisory council has grown me so much and by bringing back this internship, it can do the same for so many more students,” De Miranda said. “It provides Richardson with a future generation of ambitious young people who are willing to invest in their own city.”
The details
The feasibility study will determine whether Richardson can run a program similar to Plano’s and will assess the potential program structure, funding strategies, staffing needs and community partnerships.
“We don’t know what we don’t know yet from the city side,” Magner said. “This would be a really helpful study to understand what we would be embarking on.”
The study will be carried out by a consultant and will cost the city $12,500, which Magner said can come from year-end budget savings that are reserved for special projects.
The study will also evaluate whether the city can launch the program for summer 2027 or 2028.
Plano opens applications for its program in January and the internships run from the beginning of June through the end of July.
“I think the timeline to try to push this out through January might be just a little tight,” council member Curtis Dorian said.
Council member Jennifer Justice supported moving forward with the feasibility study but suggested implementing the program in 2028 so that the city can allocate further funding in next year’s budget.
“How much are we going to rely on reserve [funds] for projects like this?” Justice said. “I worry that perhaps it’s not the right time and that we should be considering it as part of our next budget process.”
Next steps
After the city completes the 30-day feasibility study, council will determine whether to move forward with the program for summer 2027 or 2028.
