By: Maura McCampbell, Marketing and Community Programs Coordinator
School 2 Career, a program that teaches high school youth from Pittsburgh’s underserved communities vital skills for personal and professional advancement, celebrates its 25th anniversary this September. Unsurprisingly, things will look a bit different this year.
In response to the health and safety threats posed by COVID-19, S2C has moved to an all-virtual programming format.
The program recently kicked off with a virtual orientation that introduced students to job development skills that will prepare them for professional work, followed by career and abilities assessments.
Subject-specific tutoring will continue remotely throughout the year, as will the virtual version of the popular Friday Speaker Series. The September 25 guest is William Jones, founder of the Afrofuturism Network, who will be zooming in from Washington, D.C.
Instead of in-person career-specific placements that students typically partner with throughout the year, School 2 Career has developed a robust curriculum that facilitates at home skill-building, online interviewing, virtual learning, and successfully working from home. This year’s programing lineup also includes entrepreneurial workshops and coding seminars with the University of Pittsburgh. While there are no in-person placements, students will continue to receive a stipend for their participation in these opportunities.
The format of this year’s program has changed, but the fundamental mission is unwavering.
For 25 years, School 2 Career has equipped students with the skills they need to be problem solvers in the workplace. Central to this is a professional literacy in virtues such as dependability, accountability, and responsibility, all of which position the program’s graduates with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the unexpected.
As for the program itself, S2C’s quarter-century of evolution has centered around changing to meet the needs of the communities we are serving. This year is no different.
Interested in participating in School 2 Career? You’re in luck – the program is still accepting applications for this year! Visit www.opdc.org/school2career or contact School 2 Career’s Program Director, Karla Stallworth, at kstallworth@s2c.org or 412.345.1536 to learn more and apply.