In Case You Missed It
Fall Kick-Off
We had a blast gearing up for an exciting new school year at our annual Scholar Kick-Off Event at Holy Trinity High School on Saturday, September 7! The morning gathering was a vital opportunity for our community to come together, set the tone for an enriching and successful year, and make sure that everyone is well prepared for what’s ahead. Scholars and their families learned more about LINK programming and our annual calendar, details about mandatory check-ins and Saturday Academy sessions, expectations about mentoring, an introduction to our LINK Community App, and so much more. Thanks to all of our Scholars for your enthusiastic participation. We’re looking forward to an amazing year of growth and learning together!
Summer Learning
Our High School Scholars enjoyed a 6-week Summer Learning Program from June 24th through August 1st. Summer Learning is an accelerator to provide Scholars with an intensive, focused educational experience that enhances their academic skills, knowledge, and preparedness to boost/support their academic success for the upcoming year.
Each Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Scholars participated in Academic Enrichment, ACT Prep, or Field Studies and Electives. Our 9th- and 10th-grade Scholars took elective courses including Chicago Black History, Adults in the Making, and Timewarp through Art History. Thursdays were reserved for experiential learning field trips. Scholars had the amazing opportunity to visit the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, and Altitude Trampoline Park. What a fantastic summer we had together!
Career Shadowing
This summer, we launched our Field Studies and Job Shadow experience as our Summer Learning program for our class of 2027. Through this experience, Scholars spent three weeks on-site in a Field Studies course where they learned about the professional/corporate world and had key conversations about professionalism, professional communication, leadership amongst their peers and in the workplace, and how to prepare for their Job Shadows.
Every Scholar was able to attend at least two job shadow experiences with new and returning LINK partners across six different organizations. While shadowing, Scholars were able to observe and take part in the day-to-day responsibilities of their hosts, who worked in fields ranging from law and talent recruitment to sales, IT/tech, finance, and architecture/interior design.
Regarding his Job Shadow experience in the law field, class of 2027 Scholar Rainer Fox shared, “The Field Studies class prepared me for how I should represent myself in the corporate environment, helping me feel less intimidated by the field and more comfortable in my skin being there.”
Class of 2027 Scholar Amaya Howard shared, “The Field Studies classes were helpful and got me prepared for the shadowing experience. The Field Studies went well, and I liked the [business casual] fashion show and other interactive parts of the class. The shadowing experience was informative and taught me new things about general contractors and what they do. It was very interesting to me, and I had fun.”Class of 2027 Scholar Savion Harris shared, “My shadow experiences went really well, and it was really fun. I was able to experience a lot of interesting things and view what their day-to-day life is like in the area of work. It was very interesting to see how Corporate Concepts (in partnership with geniant + Eastlake) get and sell their furniture and how Wintrust Bank sells properties.”
Special thanks to Wintrust Bank, geniant + Eastlake, Enterprise, Expedia, Modern Exec, and Kathy Schumacher (Counsel at McDermott Will & Emery LLP and a LINK Mentor) for your generosity and professionalism in hosting our LINK Scholars for this impactful Career Shadowing experience!
