Meet the Summer Interns – Rizwan Khan
The Plano Chamber is thankful to our local corporate partners for allowing us the opportunity to host TWO rising, Plano West Senior interns this summer through the Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program. “Combining Plano’s vibrant business community with a nationally-recognized school district, the Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program is a paid summer internship program for rising juniors and seniors attending a Plano public school or residing in Plano.” At the Plano Chamber our vision is to lead the greater Plano community in promoting a strong and prosperous business environment, an educated and skilled workforce, and a sustainable regional economy. We can not think of a better way to work towards this goal than by participating in this program and providing a learning environment to local high school leaders.
The Plano Chamber would like to welcome and spotlight our second intern, Rizwan Khan. Heather Wagemann, our Membership Engagement Manager, asked Rizwan, a few questions about his community involvement, future plans, and what he hopes to learn this summer interning at the Plano Chamber:
1. What would you like readers to know about YOU and why you chose to participate in the Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program?
I would like readers to know that I have an extremely high work ethic that inspires me to go out and try to change the world to be better. This ability to work hard comes from my parents’ teachings that they repeatedly instilled in me over time. Growing up in Pakistan, they came to the United States with no wealth to their name. They spent day and night working to provide for me and my siblings. Their hard work is the reason why I have so many amenities and opportunities that they didn’t have growing up. Hence, my desire to provide for my future family that same way that my parents did motivates me to keep working to the best of my ability. I also chose to participate in the Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program because I have always had the goal of impacting my community in a positive manner. I feel like a lot of kids in my age group solely participate in these sorts of programs to fulfill their desires of filling up a resume for college. For me, I have always chosen to get involved in activities that I know will allow me to make the world a better place. At the Plano Chamber of Commerce, I will have the opportunity to meet so many people and community members that I will be given the chance to discuss how we can improve our footprint to be positive rather than negative.
2. Tell us about your community involvement.
My community involvement started when I was a little kid at just five years of age where I am remembering volunteering with my faith group, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, to hand out turkey on Thanksgiving Day to the homeless population. From that experience, I have become extremely passionate about working in my community at the North Texas Food Bank where I have aided in packing food for over 200000 families across the DFW area. I have also been in involved with groups such as Humanity First, which is a global non-profit organization that works to provide aid to disaster-stricken countries like Pakistan, Yemen, and Ghana. I am also a founding member and director of outreach of an organization called Hoops Reboot which works to give low-cost basketball training to young kids in the DFW area. The money generated from these training courses is then used to restore hoops in lower-income areas so that everyone has equal access to enjoy the sport they love.
3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years, I see myself graduating from university with a degree in both political science and business. After graduating, I would love to attend law school and earn my JD degree to begin practicing either Corporate or Constitutional Law. My interest in politics and law stems from my passion for talking and explaining my ideas to others. In terms of politics, my goal is to set myself up for a career as a politician and eventually the President. Before that though, I would also love to work in human rights law for my faith group the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. As a group we are persecuted in many places across the world for our beliefs, so we need talented lawyers that can work to defend those that have been wrongly indicted for misconduct.
4. What do you hope to learn while interning at the Plano Chamber of Commerce?
I hope to primarily learn how public policy impacts businesses around us. As a student who is very interested in politics, I feel that it is important to understand how the decisions by our elected officials’ impact both small businesses and larger corporations. I also hope to learn valuable experience on how to work in a professional environment. I believe that a big problem for our youth is our lack of real-world experience in understanding professionalism and how to be successful in our community. Interning at the Plano Chamber of Commerce will allow for me to experience what it is like to collaborate with coworkers to reach a common goal. In the case of the Plano Chamber of Commerce, that goal is to provide an avenue for businesses and corporations to come together in a unified matter.