At first, government senior Mariana Castillo felt her last choice summer internship in the Home to Texas program with the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, or MEDC, would not benefit her very much in her career. 

But now, a few weeks into her internship, she said it was a “blessing in disguise,” and has given her a new appreciation for the opportunities within her hometown.  

“I did go out of town to go to school, but coming back has made me realize that we have so much potential as a community, and we should not just leave for more opportunities,” Castillo said. “At the end of the day, (that community) built a foundation for us.” 

The Home to Texas internship program aims to provide UT-Austin students summer internships with the goal of giving them more post-graduation career opportunities in their home areas. Many people from small or mid-sized towns in Texas go to bigger cities for college and then do not return to their home areas, causing a loss of talent in those areas. The Home to Texas program tries to mitigate this “brain drain” effect. 

“We understand that talent pipeline is the first thing industry looks for when they are looking at a region to establish, expand (and) relocate,” said Josh Vasquez, Director of Workforce Development at MEDC. “We have really been aggressive about developing that talent pipeline. Through internships, we feel that is going to be a great asset for our community to actually have these opportunities for students.” 

The program has 14 interns throughout the Rio Grande Valley, with four at MEDC and McAllen Chamber of Commerce, which are spearheading the effort in the city in partnership with Texas Exes. 

Interns at MEDC and McAllen Chamber of Commerce work to facilitate the economic development of the city, such as working in a festival with local culinary arts businesses and an artificial intelligence bot for the chamber of commerce website to answer common questions from visitors. 

“We did not want to bring them in and just have them answering phones or sitting at a desk or anything like that,” said Ralph Garcia, chief operating officer at MEDC. “We wanted to engage them. They participate, they are actively responsible for some of the things they are putting together. They start to feel the workforce or the workplace environment, it’s a great experience for them.” 

The internship offers participants a $5,000 scholarship at the end of their nine weeks working at the program. The students say the internship has also given them a newfound appreciation for their hometown and has even influenced them to perhaps stay and keep their talent there after graduation. 

“Being at the chamber and seeing how much McAllen and the valley is flourishing is really encouraging,” said Lauren Perez, economics sophomore and intern at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. “Because the Chamber of Commerce mainly works with small businesses, seeing how enthusiastic and optimistic people are about it really gives me hope and encourages me to want to stay and make a difference here.”