This program year, we teamed up with many of our corporate donors to provide College Possible Wisconsin scholars with access to career development resources from Brady Corporation, Kohler Co., M3 Insurance, Millipore Sigma and Northwestern Mutual. These organizations stepped up to support scholars with information sessions, internships, scholarships, and mentorship opportunities. This support comes at a time of need for scholars.
When surveying college scholars in our program, we found that 48% expressed a desire for career exploration and development support. When asked what support they needed, 84% identified internship opportunities and career resources specifically. Having high-impact experiences like internships and career exploration opportunities leads to higher rates of college completion as well as success after college (NACE, 2017). We have always been committed to meeting Milwaukee scholars where they are in order to provide value to their experience in our program. As their needs change, it is critical that we evaluate and update our program efforts. Thanks to some of our corporate donors, we’ve been working together to intentionally meet those needs.
Last year, we partnered with Kohler Co. to launch the Kohler Scholars Program. This robust program provides selected high school seniors with renewable scholarships, mentorship from Kohler leaders and an internship. The program began with three scholars and has already grown to support eight in total.
Brady Corporation, M3 Insurance, Millipore Sigma and Northwestern Mutual are connecting scholars with internships, careers, and resources. They each host exclusive information sessions for scholars to learn more about each company and their available opportunities, whether internship programs or full-time positions.
Alongside our incredible partners, we are working to provide scholars with valuable career development opportunities that not only lead to a higher success rate of college graduation for scholars but to a higher retention of homegrown talent, a more diverse workforce, and a lower rate of employment disparity. This investment in student success from our corporate partners is also an investment in the Milwaukee community.
“As College Possible evolves to meet the changing needs of our scholars, it is critical that we address the importance of preparing them for high-paying careers post-college graduation,” says College Possible Wisconsin Executive Director, Marco Morrison, “The partnerships with local businesses and corporations that we have, and those we look forward to establishing, are essential to ensuring that our scholars are prepared for the next phase of independence within the workforce. These partners understand the impactful work we do and have joined us in providing resources and opportunities that will change the lives of our scholars, our communities and our city”.
We continue to grow and build out partnerships with corporate partners. If you are interested in supporting the career development of College Possible Wisconsin scholars, please contact LKlinger@CollegePossible.org.
