A Willow Grove Native Who Attends The Milton Hershey School Interned At The Hershey Trust

WILLOW GROVE, PA — Kyle Russell was just 4 years old when he was enrolled at the Milton Hershey School, which offers a free, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education to students who come from homes experiencing extreme economic hardship.

The Willow Grove native, who will turn 18 this coming Sunday, recently had a pretty unique experience interning with the Hershey Trust Company, where he furthered his interest in business and finance by learning about budgeting practices, private equities, fixed assets, you name it.

Russell recently spoke with Patch about his experience as he transitions into his senior year at the Milton Hershey School.

‘A Very Engaging Topic’

Back in ninth grade, Russell was actually interested in journalism when he decided he was better suited studying business. He knew some friends who were on the business path and he decided to give it a try.

“It’s always been a relative interest of mine,” Russell said of business. “I just figured I’d pursue it to see if I liked it.”

And liked it, he did.

“It’s a very engaging topic,” Russell said of business and finance. “It’s not something monotonous or boring.”

Russell, who gets very good grades in school, said he was lucky enough to be placed into an internship with the Hershey Trust Co., which has a limited opening for interns each year.

During his internship, Russell spent time learning about Hershey’s history, the company’s objectives, and specifics with regard to budgeting, equities, stocks, company assets, real estate holdings and more.

He even got to attend an investment meeting with some of the company’s officials.

“They were very nice, they were very patient with me,” Russell said. “There’s a lot of terminology used that I wasn’t entirely familiar with. They were very happy to teach me about concepts and stuff like that.”

‘Broad Opportunity’

Josh Shannon, who was Russell’s internship coordinator with the Hershey Trust Co., said Russell, who was the trust’s only intern this summer due to COVID-19, performed wonderfully.

“It was a really great exposure and experience for him,” Shannon told Patch. “He was a guy that demonstrated a lot of professionalism for his age.”

Shannon said the internship served as a “really broad opportunity set of experience” for Russell, who was able to attend both large and small company meetings as well as work on fundamental equity analysis. Russell even put together a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation where he picked his own stock and analyzed performance results.

“He really blew everybody away as far as the work that he put into it,” Shannon said.

Shannon said folks at the trust company were surprised that Russell was a rising senior, figuring him to be older, possibly college-age, given his knowledge of the issues and ability to pick up on things super quickly.

“He did a lot of really good work,” Shannon said.

Transitional Living

Jonathan Small, who works in the home life/transitional living department at the Milton Hershey School, and served as Russell’s mentor, said Russell is an incredibly bright young man who will surely succeed in whatever he ends up doing after school.

“His acumen … is just amazing for his age and stage,” Small told Patch in an interview. “Some of them [students] are not always as keen as Kyle is at this age.”

Small also praised Russell for his ability to go with the flow when a trip to Greece was cancelled due to COVID-19. Many people would be undoubtedly disappointed if such a trip was scrapped, but Russel took it in stride.

“Kyle was just kind of steady. He maturely handled it,” Small said. “I just appreciate that about him.”

Russell, who lives onsite at the Milton Hershey School, is in a transitional living building at the campus, which is sort of like a college dorm, but for high school seniors, according to Dave Vagnoni, media relations manager at the school.

Vagnoni said students in kindergarten through 11th grade are under the supervision of house parents, but they are on their own when they are placed in transitional living once they hit 12th grade.

“The idea is after they leave, how can we set them up for the real world,” Vagnoni said. “We found that this kind of program helps them to get ready.”

Career Still Uncertain

Russell said he still is not entirely certain what he wants to do for a living, but his summer internship experience with business and finance has definitely piqued his interest as a possible career path to pursue.

Russell enjoys economics, but also psychology, and he said the two are not that entirely different.

“Ultimately, you’re studying the choices of people and the systems in which they operate,” he said. “Essentially, it’s broad enough that I can go multiple routes if I wanted to.”

As for more immediate plans, Russell said he is beginning to think about where he wants to attend college. Right now, the University of Pittsburgh seems to be at the top of his list.

Even if he doesn’t major in something business related, he may still minor in finance, he said, just because he is so interested in the topic.

Visit the Milton Hershey School's website for more information about the school and its programs.