About Us

Northland Center for Advanced Professional Studies (Northland CAPS) is the premier provider of professional, innovative educational experiences for students in the Northland region of Kansas City. With classes housed in several business locations throughout Clay and Platte counties, high school juniors and seniors from participating districts are provided a fully immersive educational experience in high-demand, high-skill careers that will rapidly accelerate students down their chosen career path.

Northland CAPS is a full-year program. During the fall semester, student associates work on reverse-pitched client projects for local business partners that add meaningful value to companies and our local economy. Student associates learn standard business software and technical skills and work regularly with mentors from industry. Early career professional skills like project management, creativity and critical thinking, business ethics, teamwork and time management are instructed, role modeled and measured.

Students that successfully demonstrate adequate development of professional skills during the fall semester are placed in semester-long internships during the spring semester. These internships are spread across hundreds of business partner locations and range from hospital experiences to radio stations (and everything in between)! Students report back to Northland CAPS locations once per week, but the remainder of their time is on site working for their internship provider.

Northland CAPS Goals/Strategic Focus Areas

Provide a relevant experience that supports college and career readiness for students
Be an economic development driver for engagement in the Kansas City and Northland region
Be a leader in fundamental change for traditional teaching and learning
Proactively and responsibly balance expansion of Northland CAPS through strand offerings and affordability for school districts

Digital Media & Design

The Digital Media & Design strand is for the creative, artistic student that is interested in exploring careers in Digital Media. The strand is divided into four sub strands: graphic design, digital photography, video production and audio production. Student associates in this strand find their passion and develop technical skills by working with local businesses as well as completing personal projects. This strand is perfect for students who want to follow their passions in digital media in life after high school.

Past projects during the fall semester have included:

Graphic Design projects creating logos, t-shirts, album covers, backstage passes, business cards, advertisements, flyers, cartoons, magazine layouts, and motion graphics

Digital Photography projects include photo shoots for Sporting KC, the River Market, Colony, local food trucks, fashion designers, Clever Fools, Webster House, and Chops BBQ

Video Production projects including videos for Union Station, KC Drone, the KC Street Car, Clay County Economic Development Council, and the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts

Audio Production projects including music mixes, composing movie soundtracks and original albums, podcasting and radio shows

Past internships during the spring semester have included:

Hallmark Cards
KCPT
90.9 The Bridge
Colony
Rhino Room
Belger Studios
Alphagraphics
Jazz Sister Cities

Stay up to date with the Digital Media & Design strand by following it on Instagram and YouTube!

Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing

The Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing strand is ideal for student associates interested in exploring the multitude of career options available in engineering and advanced manufacturing industries. The experience in this strand is geared toward helping student associates figure out how their passions and skill sets align with industry standards to find the right career and the best path toward it. Student associates in this strand learn valuable professional skills that are useful in any career, including project management and presentation skills. They will also have opportunities to learn industry-specific technical skills such as applying lean manufacturing processes to drive out waste or working with 2D and 3D software to develop concept models.

Past projects in the fall semester include:

Assisting with renovation plans for the new KCI Airport terminal
Designing prototypes of safer vehicles for local roads
Tracking "lost" water usage in Kansas City by analyzing vast data sets
Pitch design proposals to utilize currently unused community areas
Create products that alert pet owners that their pet is in a vehicle on a hot day
Observe manufacturing lines and look for ways to increase efficiency and safety

Past internship opportunities during the spring semester include:

Magna/LMV Automotive
Black & Veatch
Burns & McDonnell
CRB Consulting Engineers
HNTB
Holland 1916
J. Price Architecture
Kaw Valley Engineering
Olsson Associates
Standard Aero
TK Architects
YMCA

Keep up with the latest happenings in the Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing strand by following us on Instagram!

Global Business & Logistics

The Global Business & Logistics strand is for student associates who are detail-oriented, enjoy problem solving, and want to learn how businesses increase their profit margin. This includes organizing and managing people, projects, facilities and supplies to compete in an ever-changing market with both local and global competition. Whether you are interested in a career with an established company or organization or intent on creating the next great product or service, our program will connect you with the local leaders and mentors to help prepare you for a successful career.

Past projects during the fall semester include:

Working with non-profit organizations to attract new businesses to Kansas City
Completing feasibility studies for the creation of a mobile lawn equipment service
Developing patient transport services for local hospitals
Researching and recommending policies for hiring and retaining millenials
Developing social media plans for special events
Developing shipping strategies for local start-ups
Creating marketing materials to promote co-working spaces in the Northland

Past internships during the spring semester include:

AlphaGraphics
Central Exchange
Clay County Economic Development Council
Express Employment
Five Wows
City of Gladstone
Harrah's Casino and Hotel
HipHire
Hunt Midwest Development
iWerx
Kansas City Economic Development Council
LumenTouch
Make48
Mid-Continent Public Library
National WWI Museum
NKC Business Council
Northland Angel Investors
Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce
Northpoint Development
Reece Nichols
VideoFizz

To keep up with the latest happenings in the Global Business & Logistics strand, follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

Medicine & Healthcare

Due to overwhelming demand, the Medicine & Healthcare strand of Northland CAPS is spread out across four separate medical facilities in the Northland. Our approach centers on offering student associates the ability to experience many different specialized careers in the healthcare industry. A portion of the fall is spent inside a hospital where students are exposed to a unique medical environment and shadow different in-patient professionals throughout the facility. The other portion of the fall semester focuses on the out-patient side of the medical world, including (but not limited to) EMS, professional clinics, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, and other similar career opportunities.

Typical activities completed during the fall semester include

Learning industry-specific technical vocabulary
Earning Basic Life Support (BLS) certification
Earning CPR/First Aid certification
Shadow experiences with healthcare professionals
Working on in-depth case studies of body systems
Learning real, relevant physical assessment skills.

Past internship opportunities during the spring semester include

North Kansas City Hospital
Liberty Hospital
St. Luke's Hospital
Children's Mercy Northland Clinic
Chiropractic Kinesiology Clinic
BluePearl Vet
Clay County Public Health
Claycomo Densitry
eyeSmith
Gladstone Fire Department
Kearney Fire & Rescue
The Medicine Shoppe
Northland Regional Ambulance District
Quest Diagnostics
Synergy House

You can keep up with the Medicine & Healthcare strand by following us on Instagram!

Technology Solutions

The Technology Solutions strand is for student associates who are interested in exploring careers and developing skills in multiple areas of technology; these are some of the most highly sought-after skills in the overall job market today! While background knowledge and skills are extremely beneficial, pre-existing expertise in the subject matter is not necessary to be successful in this strand. Student associates will explore a range of opportunities, including software engineering, website development, coding, app development, and database management. Technical skills developed in this strand vary from year to year, depending on industry partner projects and internship focus. Strong emphasis is placed on programming methodology, problem-solving using multiple technical languages, algorithm design and development, data abstraction, and debugging strategies.

Past projects from the fall semester include:

Creating and building new websites with non-profit, startup, and private companies
Developing mobile applications for a fundraising event
'Creating and troubleshooting hardware or software to meet business needs
Developing and automating databases for sales reporting or email organization

Past internships from the spring semester include:

1102 Grand
Cerner Corporation
Clay County Economic Development Council
Code Koalas
Commerce Bank
Federal Reserve Bank
Handy Camel
Indigex
Kauffman Stadium
Lexmark International
LightEdge
The Nerdery
NKC Business Council
Northwest Missouri State University
Opus Solutions
Packet Layer
Snacks on Racks
UGA Financial

To keep up with the latest happenings in the Technology Solutions strand, follow instructor Curt Kelly on LinkedIn.

Staff & Locations

Administrative Office

Host: Central Bank of the Midwest
Address: 8740 N. Ambassador Drive, Kansas City, MO, 64154
Office Phone: (816) 977-8111

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Digital Media & Design

Host: iWerx Gladstone
Address: 7001 N. Locust St., Gladstone, MO, 64118

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Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing

Host: Campione Interior Solutions
Address: 103 W 26th Ave, North Kansas City, MO 64116

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Global Business & Logistics

Host: Northland Innovation Center / Northwest Missouri State University
Address: 6889 N. Oak Trafficway #400, Gladstone, MO, 64118

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Medicine & Healthcare - North Cohort

Inpatient Host: Liberty Hospital
Address: 2525 Glenn Hendren Dr., Liberty, MO, 64068

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Medicine & Healthcare - South Cohort

Inpatient Host: North Kansas City Hospital
Address: 2800 Clay Edwards Dr., North Kansas City, MO, 64116

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Outpatient Host: NKC Hospital Professional Building
Address: 2700 Clay Edwards Dr., North Kansas City, MO, 64116

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Technology Solutions

Host: Northland Innovation Center / Northwest Missouri State University
Address: 6889 N. Oak Trafficway #400, Gladstone, MO, 64118

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Meet Our Board

Tony Reinhart

President

Director of Government & Community Relations
Ford Motor Company

Dr. Jeremy Tucker

Vice President

Superintendent
Liberty Public Schools

Matt Fritz

Treasurer

Chief Financial Officer
North Kansas City School District

Shawna Searcy

Board Member

Executive Director
Kearney Area Development Council

Michelle Lane

Board Member

Sr. Director of Community Wellness & Corporate Health
North Kansas City Hospital

Ken Honeck

Board Member

Chief Deposit Officer
Verimore Bank

Kevin Shekleton

Board Member

Vice President & Chief Engineer, Platform Engineering
Cerner Corporation

Dr. Mike Kimbrell

Board Member

Superintendent
Park Hill School District

Dr. Jay Harris

Board Member

Superintendent
Platte County R-3 School District

* The board meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.

School Districts

Strand-Specific Social Media

To keep up with Northland CAPS events and celebrations, simply click on the social media icons seen below or select a "strand specific" social channels.