For recent Perry County Central High School graduate LaHanna Combs, Prosper Appalachia has provided more than a high school internship. It has given her the chance to step directly into the kind of work she hopes to build into a career.
Combs plans to attend Morehead State University in the fall to study music education, with the goal of one day becoming a band director. Through Prosper Appalachia, EKCEP’s in-school career exploration program, she has already begun gaining hands-on experience in that field.
After enrolling in Prosper Appalachia during her senior year, Combs began working with Chandler Wilcox, a Career Development Specialist with LKLP Community Action Council, EKCEP’s local workforce development partner in Perry County. Wilcox learned about her interest in band and music education, then worked with school leadership to help create a work-based learning opportunity for her in the Perry Central band room.
“Chandler talked to the principals and got me the job as a band director assistant, kind of like an intern,” Combs said. “I do a lot of things like make copies and find sheet music and stuff like that. And also sometimes I do student directing.”
The internship allowed Combs to see the day-to-day responsibilities that come with being a band director, from organizing music and preparing for performances to helping lead students during games and events. It has also helped her gain real experience in the same environment where she first discovered her passion for band.
That interest has now grown into a career goal, and she said Prosper Appalachia helped confirm that she is on the right path.
“I knew that I wanted to be a band director probably when I joined band my sophomore year, but I became way more confident once I actually got to direct and do some of the things that band directors actually get to do,” Combs said.
One of her most memorable experiences came early in the internship, when the school band director was unable to attend a ball game and Combs had to step into a larger leadership role.
“Yeah, I was a little nervous because our first ball game, our band director couldn’t actually be there,” Combs said. “So I was the director that night. It was real fun, though.”
Before the game, Combs helped prepare the band and get students ready for the performance. Although she was nervous at first, the experience quickly became a meaningful example of what she could do.
“So we practiced here before we went. It was a Hazard game,” Combs said. “And so I had to get the band organized, kind of get them rallied up and excited for the game. I was really nervous going into it, but once we actually started going and I started directing, it was really great.”
Those moments have helped Combs build confidence not only in music education, but also in leadership. They have also helped her better understand the responsibilities that come with employment, including paperwork, time management, and accountability.
“I feel like it created a lot of discipline because I had to make sure I had those papers in,” Combs said. “It got me used to understanding that a job you have to put full effort into.”
As she prepares for college and the next step toward becoming a band director, Combs said she would encourage other students to consider Prosper Appalachia as a way to explore their own career interests while still in high school.
“I would definitely recommend Prosper Appalachia as a program for many students because it helps them get career ready early on, helps them form relationships that will take them into their career,” Combs said.
Prosper Appalachia is funded in part through support from the Kentucky General Assembly as part of the Putting Young Kentuckians to Work initiative, but private donations help EKCEP expand critical work experience opportunities for students across Eastern Kentucky. To invest in the future of our region’s young people, donate directly at ekcep.org/donate.
EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. EKCEP is funded by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, along with various federal and state grants and private donations, and is a proud partner in the American Job Center network.