At 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9th, approximately 45 parents and high school seniors attended an informational session hosted by Future Institute at HSA McKinley Park. The Future Institute staff presented information about their programs for seniors and graduates to help ease their transition to college or careers after high school. This information was also available in Spanish.
Iara Aldape, Program Officer, introduced the parents and seniors to Future Legacies, a program for high school seniors in conjunction with CYSP at HSA McKinley Park. In addition to a college fund with the continuation of participating in Future Institute programs after graduation, Future Legacies offers to pair the senior with a current college student as a mentor to help their transition as well as college and career preparation workshops. Ms. Aldape also translated all the presented material into Spanish for parents.
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Nichole Pientka, Program Officer, presented the Future Leaders Initiative (FLI) program as a support system for graduates while they are pursuing a college degree or a career program. The FLI program includes options for participants like being paired with a mentor in their career fields, mentoring a high school senior in Future Legacies, attending workshops, and volunteering. Any Concept graduate may participate in FLI as long as they are registered in a college or career program and will earn a scholarship. Future Legacies participants will be given their scholarships once they are registered and committed to the FLI program.
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Cengiz Karatas, Executive Director, explained the ICATT Apprenticeship program. This program is for graduates who may not believe a 4-year college degree suits them and instead want to pursue an associates degree and international certification, earn hands-on experience and a stipend, and be guaranteed employment after completion. Raul Andrade from East-West University also gave a short presentation about his private college located in downtown Chicago. Overall, the meeting was a success and many parents and students indicated interest in Future Institute’s programs. The same informational sessions will be given at CMSA and HSA Southwest Chicago on October 16th and 17th. |