Empowering the engineers of tomorrow

Gabrielle Williams, recruiter

When I became aware of the Foundation I felt it was a valuable way to support a local non-profit. As a previous STEM major in college, I recognise the importance of access to tools that set people up for future success.

I was also inspired by the story behind Project Syncere. Former Motorola engineers Jason Coleman and Sean Phillips and former Northwestern University grant fund manager George Wilson – three black men – left their jobs to empower others through STEM. Their work means that people who wouldn’t normally have access to STEM programmes, now do. I was also impressed by how Project Syncere makes STEM programmes fun for students, which we all know can be challenging.

In its short 10-year history, Project Syncere has accomplished so much by serving over 10,000 students. The organisation aims to make STEM programmes fun and it has achieved a 100% graduation rate amongst all of its high school seniors.

I was impressed by how Project Syncere makes STEM programmes fun for students, which we all know can be challenging.

Since my nomination, Project Syncere has received $6,500, which has enacted their high school engineering camp. This grant is aiding in the number of students that will not only graduate but pursue STEM in their college careers and thereafter.

I’m thankful to have been asked by the Foundation to nominate a wonderful local organization here in Chicago that has impacted over 70 public and charter schools.

Dawn Fry, HR Business Partner

I grew up on the south side of Chicago, where many of the youths on the programme are from. In my experience, the earlier you can help to turn on a light for a child the better shot at a life they will have. Exposing them to new ideas and interests is paramount to their future success. And with the kids in this program – our future workforce and leaders in Chicago – their success is especially close to home for me.

We used a classroom space for the day’s events and around 100 students were participating. We spent the day broken off into smaller groups with volunteers assisting in leading teams of students to engineer a race car from a mousetrap. At the end of the exercise, most of the kids were excited to see if their race car worked and if they could beat their fellow students to the finish line.

But the best part for me was just being there to offer support, make suggestions, provide encouragement and direction, and to earn trust within the group.

We are helping to inspire the young people who may one day have the essential skills needed in the fourth industrial revolution.

Working for an organization that not only has a foundation, but a focus on corporate social responsibility initiatives means that we both have been able to give back and support young people in our community to thrive.

We’re grateful that the Group supports projects like this and not just because it’s giving to our community but because it relates to our purpose of bringing people together to build the future.

Through our support for project Syncere we are helping to inspire the young people who may one day have the essential skills needed in the fourth industrial revolution.