2018 Summer Stretch & STEM Institute
Preparing Youth for College and Career Success
Companies That Care’s Summer Stretch & STEM Institute is a series of concurrent enrichment programs in July and August for underserved teens and college students. This program offers certificates in STEM topics, exposure to a multitude of career choices, and professional skill- and confidence-building opportunities. Overall, the program helps students stand out when they apply to college or for high-demand, well-paying jobs both during and after college.
These programs will enhance their transition to college and career life while strengthening their resume!
Summer 2018 Program Offerings & Registration
Stretch: CAREER
Career Awareness Internships (CAI)
These are 3- or 6-week programs exploring different industries, careers, and projects.
Upon satisfactorily meeting all program requirements, participants will be awarded a stipend.
For students participating for their second year, they have the chance to build upon their skills and to develop new ones as well as to explore career options for specific industries.
CAI Traditional (July 9 – July 27)
This is our traditional, 3-week internship program, which will introduce you to careers you might not know existed, and help you align your education, skills, and interests with a career. The program will culminate in participants choosing a company to shadow for a day in order to get the most out of the experience! Students participate in excursions to many different companies in various industries from pharmaceuticals to banking to media to grasp the variety of career paths available to them. We will meet Mon-Fri 10a-2p
CAI Chicagobility (July 2 – August 10)
This is a new, 6-week internship, overlapping with the Traditional program, designed specifically for 9th graders. This program will introduce 14 and 15 year olds to a variety of careers, and the education necessary to work in those fields. We will also help these students identify things about themselves as learners and workers, while teaching skills that will be helpful in the future. In Weeks 1, 5, 6, we will meet Mon-Thurs, 10a-3p. Weeks 2, 3, 4, we will meet Mon-Fri, 10a-2p.
CAI One Summer Chicago Plus (OSC+) (July 2 – August 10)
This is a new, 6-week paid internship for ages 16-24, focused on planning a final event, and learning about the topics such as finance, operations, marketing, sales, and project management in the process. This internship will meet Mon-Thurs, 12p-5p
Applicants must complete a two part application. The first step is to apply with One Summer Chicago, available here. Please select “City of Chicago-Department of Family and Support Services” from among the 6 choices when prompted. Second, please apply directly to Companies That Care, here. Applications are due May 21st.
Stretch: COLLEGE
College Onboarding Colloquium
A big name for an important summer: the summer before college. This four-session seminar is for first generation parents and students heading off to college in the fall. There will be speakers, discussion topics, interactive activities, check lists and dinner! By the end, students and their parents will be fully prepared to start college in the fall without experiencing the mishaps commonly occurring for first generation college students. We will cover such topics as budgeting, time management, forms completion, housing, loans, and so much more. Get prepared while having fun!
Fee: $100 for students and parents, dinner provided
Date/Time: July 12 – July 31, Tuesdays, 6pm-8pm
Location: 815 W. Van Buren St. Suite 415
Who: Students Entering College in Fall 2018
CPS STUDENTS — Click Here to Register for College Onboarding Colloquium
College-Credit Course
Take advantage of the opportunity to get a college course out of the way this summer at Companies That Care HQ with the help of a 5-star tutor. We’ll register for an online course, and work on it together each week in the office. When you start college, you’ll already have a collge course under your belt, and be able to jump right to the next level!
If you are interested in this course, please reach out to talicornblath@companies-that-care.org.
Fee:
Dates: June 29 – August 9
Location: 815 W. Van Buren St. Suite 415
Who: Rising Seniors and students entering college in fall of 2018
STEM: TECHNOLOGY
Computer Modeling and Robotics
Center for Connected Learning & Computer-Based Modeling at Northwestern University is partnering with Companies That Care to offer this course. From our instructors:
In this two-week Summer Institute, students will engage with computational thinking and computational modeling using single-board computers (SBCs) – powerful but accessible tools. Each student will work with his or her own pcDuino SBC, an open-source platform that not only supports creative computing projects in software but also encourages the construction of hardware-level interfaces.
On the software side, the course will provide an in-depth workshop on the NetLogo agent-based modeling language. Although there are no programming prerequisites, each student will create an extended NetLogo-based project of their own design by the end of the course, along with several smaller projects and assignments. NetLogo is used not only in schools but also in professional research in computational sciences and social sciences.
On the hardware side, students will assemble circuits to augment their software creations. No soldering will be required, but students will use solderless breadboards and electronics components to build a number of constructions, including sensor-driven feedback loops, digital coded communications, and simple robotics controls.
Fee: $100, lunch provided
Date/Time: July 12 – July 31, M – F 9a-2p
Location: 815 W. Van Buren St. Suite 415
Who: CPS High School Students
Click here to register for Computer Modeling and Robotics
Click Here to View the Full Summer Stretch & STEM Institute Flyer!