KPMG U.S. welcomes high school interns to the first Empower High School Experience

This summer kicks off the inaugural launch of the KPMG U.S. Empower High School Experience, an innovative Community Impact initiative that supports the firm’s commitment to building equitable access to career and development opportunities. This three-week paid internship will introduce high school students from diverse backgrounds to careers in public accounting and professional services.

Creating equitable pathways to the accounting and professional services sector for students early in their career journey is a key part of KPMG U.S.’ Accelerate 2025 strategy. In addition to the steady decline of accounting professionals overall, Black and Latinx representation in accounting majors is significantly lower than other racial and ethnic populations. This experience will allow high school students from all backgrounds, who are just beginning to navigate their academic and career journey, to explore new career paths, develop new skills and build a professional network. 

Throughout the program, interns will engage in an enriching learning curriculum focused on personal development, relationship management, college and career readiness, firm and industry knowledge and curated experiences that immerse them in our KPMG culture. Nearly 180 juniors and seniors will participate across 11 markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Hartford, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, San Francisco and St. Louis. Nearly 500 firm professionals will serve as coaches, mentors, content developers, facilitators and volunteers to create a valuable and memorable KPMG experience.

This new program is launched in partnership with our national nonprofit collaborators funded by the KPMG U.S. Foundation. Our firm has collaborated with the National Association of Black Accountants’ Accounting Career Awareness Program, All Stars Project, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Cristo Rey Network, Junior Achievement USA and NAF to identify students for this program. Some of these organizations, as well as the Center for Audit Quality and Everfi, have also provided enriching content to round out the internship curriculum. We look forward to sharing more updates on this program throughout the summer and across our social channels.