It is because of community members like you that we are able to help hundreds of Chicago Public School students reach their college and career goals. As we approach the second quarter, we are excited to share with you all of the success Chicago Scholars has had during the first quarter of this year. Please take a moment to read our 1st quarter newsletter and witness the impact you are helping us to make in our city.

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From the moment a Scholar, family member, board members, or staff enters the Chicago Scholars office, our purpose, goals, and outcomes are clear. The purpose of Chicago Scholars is to  ensure that Chicago’s best students receive the college counseling, mentoring, and supportive community they need to move from high school to college and career. Our goals are to help Scholars navigate the college application process so they can enroll in the college that best matches their needs and begin building leadership skills. The immediate outcome is that our Scholars feel supported throughout these challenging years of their lives; the long-term outcome is a city where ambitious, motivated students meet their full potential regardless of their Zip code, family resources or financial situation. This is the assignment we have given ourselves – the assignment that we made our mission.

As our website proudly displays, our mission is “to uniquely select, train, and mentor academically ambitious students from under-resourced communities to complete college and become the next generation of leaders who will transform their neighborhoods and our city.” In our day to day work, we   carry out our mission through what we call the CS Way: We Dream Big, We Show Up, We Embrace Our Difference, We Model the Way, We Care For Each Other, and We Keep Our Word. These are values that many organizations claim, but at Chicago Scholars, we put them into practice in everything we do.

Our Scholars have an assignment too —  Enroll, Engage, and Enrich! Our application process is rigorous and competitive. Our team expects a high level of engagement in our 1:1 College Counseling and participation in our Onsite Career and Leadership Forum. These are all tools our Scholars are expected to use to build a career that opens the door to economic mobility.

Our high school partners – teachers, counselors, principals – have an assignment too: encourage your students to apply. You know your students best! We heavily rely on high school visits, nominations, and attendance at our Open House events during recruitment season. The reason we have an opportunity to share our story with prospective Scholars is due to our school partnerships. We are grateful that high school across Chicago welcome us into their space.

The assignment for our community partners (Board members, community-based organizations, volunteers) is to share your time, talent, and resources with our Dream Team members. This allows the CS staff to carry out the day-to-day work required to ensure each Scholar has the support needed for success.

This is what you will receive when you come to my weekly blog: a real-time look at the strategies, challenges, and triumphs of our CS Ways, insights into recruiting participants and inspiring disengaged students, and the resources we use in our work. These resources are critical to setting us up for success and I want to share our knowledge with you!

Nameka R. Bates, Ph.D.

Managing Director of College Access

Are you in your final semester of your undergraduate degree and unsure about the future? Are you having a hard time finding that “perfect” career to start upon graduation? Are you trying to decide whether you want to go back to school before starting a career? Use these tips to clarify your goals as you wrap up your final semester of college.

Tip #1: Sit down and write / document one goal you’d like to accomplish by the end of the semester. It can be easy to get lost and forget that college is a vehicle for your future while you’re still a student. Setting a goal and working at it will allow you to focus on the most important thing – that is, school — and set boundaries for what you can and cannot do.

Tip #2: If you’re looking for a job in corporate America, leverage the resources around you. Most schools have a career center that helps students get a post-graduation job. If you’ve never set foot in their office, now is the best time to do it. Set an appointment, write down your goal from Tip #1, and print a copy of your resume so they can help you identify career paths and areas for improvement that match your interests. In addition, Chicago Scholars is a great resource  — we have people at every level of the organization who are ready to help you. Contact us any time to see how we can help!

Tip #3: If you’re looking for a role in research, talk to someone who is already in the field. Depending on your major and the kind of research you want to do, you may want to search for opportunities around some target fields of interest. In addition, you will also want to identify people within your immediate network (alumni of your university, peers in your class, or members of a similar organization) that are doing what you want and ask them how they did it. The answer could be as simple as a pipeline program or a mutual connection that you regularly engage with.

Tip #4: Thinking about graduate school? Map out a plan of attack. Graduate school can be a daunting idea if you’re the first in your family to pursue it. Nevertheless, it is important when going after a higher degree to have a plan. Start by writing down your top five to ten schools you would go to if money wasn’t an issue. Then, research and list the program you would enroll in at each of those schools. Next, you’ll want to look on the school websites to see if they have university or program specific events coming up that you can attend. Make time to learn about the school and whether it is a good fit for you. Make sure you keep a calendar of application deadlines and begin to gather the materials you’ll need to submit.

Tip #5: Your path is yours! Do not compare it to someone else’s. Everyone that exists can achieve their purpose and make an impact on the lives of others. If things do not work out exactly as you planned them, do not worry. Take one step at a time, one day at a time, and you’ll find a path that makes sense for you.

Kevin Banks, Jr.

Manager of Corporate Partnerships

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Chicago Scholars, we want to share the bittersweet news that Dominique Jordan Turner has announced that she will be leaving her role as the Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Scholars on January 1, 2021 to pursue other opportunities. Dominique has been an outstanding Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors is grateful for her innovative leadership in furthering Chicago Scholars’ mission and values.

Leading the organization through significant growth since 2013 as well as through the recent unprecedented challenges, Dominique’s commitment to elevating academically ambitious students from under-resourced communities have resulted in many notable accomplishments, including:

• A 200% increase in the number of students Chicago Scholars serves each year

• The establishment of the Alumni Leadership Association

• Team LeBron James naming Chicago Scholars as its charity of choice for the 2020 NBA All Star Game

• The selection of Chicago Scholars as a 2020 Best Place to Work by Crain’s Chicago Business

A 2018 inaugural Obama Foundation Fellow, Dominique has worked passionately as a leader, role model, and mentor to help our Scholars become the next generation of leaders in Chicago.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in the last seven years on behalf of talented young leaders in our city,” said Dominique Jordan Turner. “When I joined the team, I was asked to grow the organization, professionalize it and elevate the brand so that it would become a household name. I feel like I’ve done just that and as I depart, I am confident in the team, structure and systems that have been put in place to take Chicago Scholars to the next level. I will forever be a champion of this work even as I begin the next chapter of my leadership journey.”

While a search is underway, the Board of Directors is delighted to announce that Jeff Beckham, current Chicago Scholars Vice President of Partnerships, will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer beginning December 1, 2020. The Board is looking forward to working with Jeff in this new capacity and he will be well supported by Chicago Scholars’ dynamic executive team.

“Dominique has impacted the lives of so many young people and I know she will continue to do so with great passion in her future endeavors. We are excited and confident that Jeff will successfully lead the organization through this transition as Chicago Scholar’s interim CEO. He is a trusted leader both within the organization and in the Chicago community,” said Kourtney Gibson, President of Loop Capital Markets and Chair of the Chicago Scholars Board.

“It has been such a pleasure to watch Dominique and Chicago Scholars grow together so dramatically. We are excited for her next phase as well as the next chapter of Chicago Scholars. As always, we’re excited, too, for all of the talent riding throughout our city,” shared Tim Schwertfeger, former Chairman and CEO of Nuveen Investments and Chicago Scholars founder.

Kathryn Thomas, Partner at Chilton Yambert Porter LLP, immediate past chair of the Chicago Scholars Board of Directors and head of the search committee that found Dominique seven years ago, will again lead the board’s executive search committee for the next CEO of Chicago Scholars. For inquiries about the search, please contact kthomas@cyp-law.com.

Please join us in thanking Dominique for her enormous dedication to Chicago Scholars and in wishing her continued success in the next phase of her career.

-The Chicago Scholars Board of Directors