Empowering apprenticeships for middle schoolers

Last fall, funds raised from generous GlobalGiving donors like you helped Spark create tailored apprenticeships for four deserving students from coast to coast. Now, with your support, those four students are gaining even more knowledge, skills, and career awareness through a second semester of Spark’s workplace-based mentoring program.

In Philadelphia, Spark student Amirah is spending her spring semester with Kate, a local textile designer. Last fall, Amirah had the chance to see how her creativity applied to the world of digital broadcast through an apprenticeship with a producer at WHYY, the local NPR station. Now, through her afternoon sessions with Kate at Indy Hall, a coworking space downtown, Amirah is continuing to explore her creative side while learning artistic techniques, including block printing and hand sewing, product pricing, and more. Along the way, Kate is helping Amirah improve her ability to collaborate with other people and to persevere through challenging tasks, such as navigating complex design software.

Zavonie, the Spark Chicago student who developed valuable negotiation skills during his apprenticeship with an attorney in the fall, is now working with Anandha, a software engineer at Vibes Media. This spring, Anandha is helping Zavonie gain expertise in computer programming through a video game design project. In addition to improving his digital literacy, Zavonie is learning how to manage his time, pitch ideas, and think critically. Halfway through the semester, Anandha commented on his apprentice’s determination, another key personal resource that Zavonie is drawing on not only in his apprenticeship, but also to chart a course toward enrolling in one of Chicago’s top high schools. “He is so driven,” Anandha says of his apprentice. “He dreams big, and I hope I can help him…find the path to his life goals.”

Meanwhile, in the Bay Area, Kalin is building on what he learned from his fall semester apprenticeship at Rockbot, an Oakland-based app company, as spends his spring with Brian, a technical recruiter at Ask.com. In his first apprenticeship, Kalin gained valuable experience exploring the many roles that go into a small technology start-up; now, Brian is helping him see how matching the right people to the right positions plays out on a much larger scale.

In April, Kalin had the chance to share his story at Spark’s National Strategy Day, an annual gathering of the organization’s board members, staff, and other stakeholders from across the country. “My life is different now because of Spark, and that includes school,” Kalin said. “Before, math wasn’t my favorite subject. But now I see that you can have cool jobs when you are good at math. It makes me try harder - I can see why school and even the classes that I don’t like are important.”

Kalin’s new understanding of the value of working hard in school is reflected on his report card: His GPA has more than doubled since he started Spark last fall.

Finally, in Los Angeles, Mary Jay is completing her second apprenticeship at software company Cornerstone OnDemand as one of 60 Spark students matched with mentors in fields ranging from sales to software development. In the fall, Mary Jay worked with Cornerstone proposal writer Danielle to draft the first five chapters of her own book; this spring, the two are continuing to build their relationship while exploring the business side of the literary world. With guidance from Danielle, Mary Jay is learning to research publishers, write author bios and pitch letters, and create a media kit that she can send to agents. By helping Mary Jay develop such practical skills and tools, while also encouraging her to nurture her storytelling talent each week with creative prompts, Danielle is ensuring that her mentee has a strong foundation for a future writing career. 

In a few weeks, Mary Jay, Zavonie, Kalin, and Amirah will present their final projects at their schools’ Discovery Night celebrations. We know that they and their Spark peers in Philadelphia, Chicago, LA, and the Bay Area will end their year in the program equipped with the skills and motivation they need to keep working hard in school, trying new experiences, and pursuing their dreams.

Want to join the conversation about keeping students engaged and on track? Visit Spark’s Facebook page or send us a Tweet to let us know: What inspires you to keep learning?

Links:

• Learn about Spark's role at the 2014 GradNation Summit

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, Spark students across the country spent the fall semester exploring exciting careers with mentors in a wide range of fields, from archaeology to marketing to software engineering. Along with learning how to write code, argue legal cases, conduct scientific experiments, and much more, Spark’s seventh and eighth graders gained important social and emotional skills, such as how to collaborate, ask questions, and set goals.

In our last update, we introduced you to four of those Spark students: MaryJay, Kalin, Amirah, and Zavonie. In December, all four officially completed their first semester of the apprenticeship program by participating in Discovery Nights at their schools, the celebratory events where Spark students present their final projects.

In Los Angeles, Spark student MaryJay showed off a bound copy of the first four chapters of the story she wrote with her mentor Danielle, a proposal writer at Cornerstone OnDemand. Over the course of her apprenticeship with Danielle, MaryJay sharpened her literary skills, learned about character development, and built a strong relationship with a role model who shares her passion for writing. After seeing what their daughter had accomplished through Spark, MaryJay’s parents expressed gratitude that she was able to spend time with someone who could guide her through the writing process. They – and MaryJay - are excited that she will have the chance to learn more about writing and publishing through a second apprenticeship with Danielle this spring.

Meanwhile, in Oakland, Spark student Kalin invited Discovery Night guests to explore the website he built with his mentor Garrett, the CEO of Rockbot, a music app start-up. To make the site, Kalin learned coding languages, designed his own logo, and curated content that reflected his interests and personality, including pictures, videos, and music. On top of those digital skills, Kalin learned a valuable lesson about being confident in yourself and acting on your dreams. As he wrote on his website (keptcalm.com), “My Rockbot mentors turned a good idea into an even better reality. And now, they’re a thriving business. I hope to do something similar when I get older, or maybe even now!”

At his school’s Discovery Night in Chicago, Spark student Zavonie shared the confidence and public speaking skills he learned through his apprenticeship with James, a local attorney, when he delivered a speech about his experience at his mentor’s law firm to an audience of almost 100 people. His project included a poster highlighting a key talent he honed with James: the nuanced art of negotiation. After impressing James with his insatiable “appetite for learning” in the fall, Zavonie is eager to dive into his second Spark apprenticeship this spring, where he hopes to keep developing the skills he built at the law firm while exploring how his love of sports could connect to a career.

In Philadelphia, Discovery Night guests got a glimpse of the broadcast journalism skills Spark student Amirah gained as an apprentice at public media provider WHYY. With her mentor Lindsey, a WHYY digital producer, Amirah created a “man on the street” video featuring one-on-one interviews with people about winter fashion trends. After her semester with Lindsey, Amirah had not only learned professional filming and editing techniques, but had also noticeably improved her communication skills and self-confidence.

 As Amirah, Zavonie, Kalin, and Maryjay join hundreds of other Spark students in Philadelphia, Chicago, LA, and the Bay Area for a second semester of hands-on apprenticeships this spring, we’re excited to cheer them on as they explore, learn, and create with their mentors. In the meantime, we want to hear from you! Visit Spark on Facebook and let us know: How has a mentor inspired you to turn an idea into reality?