HACE's El Futuro Kick-Off at Northern Trust

HACE's El Futuro kick-off, sponsored by Northern Trust, will bring in students from Chicago Public School's Curie High School, Schurz High School, and Benito Juarez High School to a day of presenting students with different career options for their future. This kick-off is in conjunction with our HACE's El Futuro program:

El Futuro

a career development project for high school students delivered by HACE in partnership with Chicago Public Schools Department of College and Career Preparation

El Futuro furthers both HACE’s work to strengthen the pipeline of Latino talent and the mission of DCCP, which is to equip students to successfully transition into post-secondary education, advanced career training or viable jobs with a meaningful career path.  To provide students with “real life” career exposure, HACE engages our local corporate partners to provide presentations, skill-building sessions, site visits, job shadowing, coaching and internship opportunities for students.  HACE has been working with Latinos to strengthen their careers for over a quarter-century and has unique relationships with multiple generations of Latino professionals in the Chicagoland area.  Another natural volunteer pool for this effort has been our corporate partners’ Hispanic Employee Network Groups, whose members are seeking ways to demonstrate leadership and to give back to their communities.  Volunteers represent a variety of professional pathways including IT, Sales & Marketing, Engineering, Accounting & Finance, Non-Profit Leadership, Health Professions, and Human Resources.

El Futuro’s short-term goal is that students will gain a better understanding of their options for life after high school, including both higher education and entry into the workforce.  Students will improve their interviewing and networking skills, build professional employment networks, and learn how to “sell themselves” to potential employers and universities.  They will gain self-confidence regarding their academic and job-related abilities, which should lead to greater engagement for their remaining time in school. 

Our long-term goal is that these students achieve better college entrance and completion rates and improve their prospects for fulfilling careers.  Furthermore, upon graduation, we believe these students will have a better-defined plan for their next steps, including further studies and meaningful employment.  These plans will reflect a broadened set of perspectives, not only what may be observed in the immediate surroundings of their families and neighborhoods.  This school year, HACE will work with approximately 100 juniors at Curie, Schurz, and Benito Juarez and 60 seniors at Curie and Schurz High Schools* to support them toward achieving the following:

* Partner schools were selected based on: 1) high concentration of Latino students; 2) the presence of a DCCP program, such as accounting, business and IT, that is compatible with HACE’s professional base of volunteers; 3) willing school administration and faculty.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Mario Vela, M.S.
Director of Member Services
El Futuro High School & Leadership Academy Programs
HACE || 100 S Wacker Dr, Suite 700 || Chicago, IL 60606 || 312-435-0498
www.haceonline.org