Nex-Generation Round Up for Youth has provided a variety of career-related and community-minded programs and activities that offer students an understanding of opportunities available in our area.

The Hansen Foundation partners with Nex-Gen to fund a variety of programs, with the hope of increasing participation.

During the 2023-24 school year, Young AmeriTowne® of Kansas welcomed 584 students. Since the program started, 2,902 grade school students from 29 public, private, and home-school groups have come to Lenora to participate in creating their own town by electing government officials and working in a variety of jobs.

From 2021 to 2024, the Nex-Gen internship program grew from 99 to 191 interns, and 75 to 106 businesses. To date, 900 students have experienced local careers through paid internships in this program.

In the spring of 2023, Nex-Gen successfully piloted a Life$kills program they developed with Norton Community High School. Juniors and seniors can now learn budgeting, community involvement, interviewing skills, resume writing, how to be wise consumers, and other life skills to prepare for adulting.

Nex-Great Idea Entrepreneurship Workshops developed by Nex-Gen staff provided step-by-step instruction on writing business plans to prepare for competitions for over 60 students per year. This program replaced YouthBiz previously licensed through the Young Americans Center.

Tinley Rentschler, who worked at Smith County Memorial Hospital in Smith Center as a Nex-Gen intern two summers in a row, had this to say about the experience:

“The Nex-Gen Internship program offers so many opportunities for learning and growing. Through our internships we were able to network with many different people. The Nex-Generation program helps us to determine our future career paths.”