College and Career Goals

Every young adult has the potential to be the world's next Triple Threat: Intelligent, Talented, and Successful. The key to T3 status is self-determination and parental support. Go beyond covering the academic bases in and outside of school. Find those extra-curricular activities and keep exploring. Get on board with college preparation and start building a career for tomorrow, today.


Looking Back and Moving Forward

In hindsight we can all look back on our education and pinpoint experiences that demonstrate our genuine love of learning. However in the midst of tests and overdue books, a love of learning wasn't necessarily the thing that got us through. More often than not, a major source of academic motivation is the end result of our efforts. At the bottom of the Academic Rainbow students are hoping to find the sweet pot of gold that is a successful career. They have dreams about where they are going in life, and questions about how to get there.

For years the parental answer to the question of success has been "Books now and business later." Many young people grow up with the notion that good grades guarantee great jobs, but this isn't exactly true. Colleges are looking for more than a perfect SAT score, and employers want their employees to have more than the best degrees. In today's modern society, students are encouraged to be well rounded people. After a long day of classes young people are expanding their responsibilities, going out into the world, and revealing themselves as political activists, entrepreneurs, and inventors.

The voice of young people has grown to a point where adults are actively listening. With the ever growing development of technology, and especially after the Dot-Com Boom, corporations are investing a great deal of time and money into Career Planning for Teens. Many employers have figured out that high quality staff is comprised of highly trained employees, and what better time to start training than at a young age.

With this thought in mind, the organizations listed here focus on internships and career training.

The National Foundation for Teach Entrepreneurship [www.nfte.com]
120 Wall Street, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10005, (212) 232 3333
NFTE's mission is to teach entrepreneurship to low-income young people, ages 11 through 18, so they can become economically productive members of society by improving their academic, business, technology and life skills. NFTE's programs are offered in a variety of settings including public schools, after-school programs at community-based organizations, and intensive summer business camps.

All Stars Project Inc. [www.allstars.org/programs/index.html]
543 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036, (212) 941-9400
Joseph A. Forgione Development School for Youth
The Development School for Youth is a 12-week leadership training and career education program for young people aged 16-21 that focuses on development. It is at the forefront of a new trend in education that recognizes that having non-school-based learning opportunities, known as "supplemental education," is critical to children's success in school and the world beyond.

LEAD [www.leadprogram.org]
14 E. Hartwell Lane, Philadelphia PA 19118, (215) 753-2490
Recognizing that a lack of role models in corporate America was discouraging students from underserved communities from pursuing careers in business, executives at McNeil Pharmaceutical launched LEAD at The Wharton School in 1980. LEAD aims to create an innovative and intensive summer business program that would serve as the foundation for lifelong partnerships between outstanding students and the nation's leading corporations and business schools.

INROADS [www.inroads.org]
120 Wall St., 31st Floor, New York, NY 10005, (212) 425-8300
The mission of INROADS is to develop and place talented minority youth in business and industry and prepare them for corporate and community leadership. INROADS seeks high performing African American, Hispanic, and Native American Indian students for internship opportunities with some of the nation's largest companies.

YouthBuild USA [www.youthbuild.org]
Urban Strategies Youthbuild, 294 Sumpter Street, Brooklyn, NY 11233, (718) 919-3600
In YouthBuild programs, unemployed and undereducated young people ages 16-24 work toward their GED or high school diploma while learning job skills by building affordable housing for homeless and low-income people. Strong emphasis is placed on leadership development, community service, and the creation of a positive mini-community of adults and youth committed to success.

YouthBuild USA offers students and graduates opportunities for:
-Career and academic advancement
-Leadership roles in the YouthBuild Alumni Association, YouthBuild National Leaders Council and other community development organizations that can have impact beyond their local communities
-Civic engagement and community service
-Asset building and financial management skills through IDA and asset trust programs
-Networking through conferences and youth councils

Highschoolstartups [www.highschoolstartups.com]
This website is intended for young people serious about starting a business on the web. Highschoolstartups.com contains nuts and bolts advice, methods of encouraging entrepreneurship among young people, and an understanding of how youth can actually give you an advantage as an entrepreneur.

For the complete listing pick up a copy of A Better Today Brings a Brighter Tomorrow, a resource guide for African American young people and their parents. Visit www.lulu.com/msoy for more details.

About the Author:
This article is an excerpt of A Better Today Brings a Brighter Tomorrow, (abt.msoyonline.com) a resource guide for African American parents, self-published by LaShanda Henry. Visit lulu.com/msoy to purchase a copy of this book or email lhenry@msoyonline.com for details.

© LaShanda Henry 2005

NOTE: You are welcome to forward or “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” info at the end and the copyright notice), and you send a copy of your reprint to lhenry@msoyonline.com.