Resource 1 Partners with Chicago School for Inaugural Career Exploration Day

Resource 1 was delighted to partner with Pritzker College Prep recently on their inaugural Sophomore Career Exploration Day. The school is located on the West side of the City of Chicago, where over 90% of their graduated students are the first in their families to attend college.

Pritzker has historically held career days on school grounds, inviting company representatives into their classrooms to engage with seniors about their future careers. However, the school recognized that students need an introduction to career options before their senior year to give them the opportunity to develop their interests before applying to and attending college.

The resulting program was the Sophomore Career Exploration Day, in which Pritzker took 120 sophomore students to a variety of companies in the city and suburbs, including 30 students who visited Resource 1. It was an opportunity for students to connect with employees and learn more about their future options. “Everything about the visit to Resource 1 was great. I have never been to the suburbs before and got to meet so many successful people,” commented one student. “I especially enjoyed hearing about how they ended up at Resource 1, I am happy to know it is ok to change careers.”

The day kicked off with a tour of the office, followed by breakfast and informal conversation with 10 Resource 1 team members. For the remainder of the half-day program, students listened to a highly interactive presentation. They were introduced to a variety of careers in the STEM field, and ended the day with a fun trivia quiz hosted by Anastasia Valentine, Executive Vice President at Resource 1.

Feedback from students who participated in this career day program was extremely positive. It was an amazing experience that opened their eyes to the immense variety of career paths they could take in the technology field. It was also clear that these students valued the career advice dispensed by the Resource 1 team. “I know that life is full of shifts. It was great to know other adults have experienced these shifts and made it through. When I left Resource 1, I felt like I knew so much about STEM careers and definitely want to consider studying STEM in college,” said another student.

Resource 1 is excited to partner up with Pritzker College Prep for future career events and introduce more students to the world of Information Technology.