Chicago Hope Scholarship Award
Chicago Hope partners with Chicago Public Schools to offer high school seniors the opportunity to apply for the Chicago Hope Award. The award is a four-year renewable college scholarship and a dedicated mentor through our Role Models Program.
Each year Chicago Hope hosts a ceremony where the students are presented with their award by their new mentor in front of family, friends and faculty.
ROLE MODELS PROGRAM
Our scholarship recipients face many challenges such as low-income backgrounds and single-parent homes. Many are first-generation Americans and most are the first in their families to attend college. These obstacles can make high school a struggle and college a seemingly impossible dream. Statistically, less than one-tenth of Chicago Public School students graduate from college (Consortium of Chicago School Research).
The Chicago Hope Role Models Program partners each student with a member of our board; a mentor dedicated to their success and personal growth. The partnership provides students with guidance and support throughout college and into their professional careers. The program initially focuses on the student’s personal transition to college, developing their resume and identifying internship and leadership opportunities. As they near graduation, the focus transitions to helping the students develop their abilities in interviewing and networking. The Role Models program also leverages the entire Chicago Hope Board to help each student make connections and find career opportunities. The Chicago Hope Board is a diverse group of professionals in the fields of business, education, law, healthcare, the arts, technology, science, consulting and public service
CAREER DAY & PROFESSIONAL SHADOWING
Through our annual Career Day, Chicago Hope students are connected with our internal and external network of professionals and have the opportunity to explore different career paths and develop their interviewing skills. Each student gets to meet with multiple professionals inside and out of their field of interest, and walks away with 2 shadow day contacts so they may experience a ‘real-life’ workday. For instance, pre-med students shadow doctors doing rounds, finance majors learn about the capital markets from an investment banker, education majors visit a class in-session. The shadow day is an on-site experience. The goal of the entire day is to enhance the student’s career search, improve their interviewing skills, and connect them to our network of professionals.
ALUMNI PROGRAM
Chicago Hope’s ultimate goal is to help its students transition from mentee to mentor. Through the Role Models program and after graduating college, our board engages its young leaders through an agenda of professional networking events, community service projects, and leadership opportunities. Alumni are encouraged to join our board upon graduation and can become a mentor to a student themselves.
Hear From Our Students
center this summer instead of going for a summer job that paid more.
Even though my internship does not pay much, I love my experience
as it has given me many opportunities to serve the community”
— Li Ying Wu
“I have consistently looked to Chicago Hope for guidance and they have had a major impact on my overall growth and development. As a result of my involvement with Chicago Hope, I have been able to launch my own mentoring program on campus, land top internship opportunities and develop the confidence and reassurance I need to accomplish the goals that I set out to achieve.”
— Jamese Dunlap
“Thank you for believing that I deserve this scholarship and thank you for putting your faith in me. You are helping my dreams come true.”
— Maggie Mazurkiewicz
“I honestly feel that the most stressing time throughout my high school career has been to figure out how to finance my college education.
I want to thank you and Chicago Hope for believing in me.
I will make sure to prove that you were right in doing so.”
— Christina Lamas
— Julian Cook
“I always knew that I wanted to go to college, but I simply didn’t
know how I was going to afford it. Knowing that I don’t have to worry about costs anymore is an immense relief to myself and my family.
The scholarship hasn’t just given me a cash for school, its given me
a whole new family – one that supports and guides me and will never give up on me. And that is priceless.”
— Tamathor Abughnaim
“My family and I greatly appreciate all of your help. I can only hope to excel in the upcoming years to show you just how grateful I really am.”
— Margarita Lamas
“With your help I have come one step closer to fulfilling my hopes
of one day becoming a doctor of pharmacy and being able to serve
the community similar to the way you serve our youth today via this wonderful program. Thank you for giving me the inspiration I needed
to continue putting my best foot forward in order to help construct a brighter future for our society.”
— Gabriela Perez