Mission
The mission of the DuPage Area Student Leadership Academy is to link local high school students with the area business community; the purpose is to help students prepare for careers and lifelong learning. The academy focuses on developing personal characteristics and skills that employers are seeking in job candidates.
Four sessions of the academy are devoted to instruction in unique business/education settings and encompass: leadership skill assessment, time management and work attitude, recognition and incorporation of diversity in the workplace, resume writing, interviewing skills, business protocol and interaction with professionals at a business expo. A fifth optional session serves as an opportunity for students to attend a business breakfast/luncheon.
This program began in 2001 and was previously run in collaboration with the Oak Brook Area Association of Commerce and Industry and Oak Brook area high schools. When the chamber was no longer able to operate the program through its office, the DuPage Area Education-to-Careers/Technical Preparation consortium took over in 2005. By doing so, the program was able to reach out to more area high schools and increase its enrollment. The academy currently has 70 students enrolled from Hinsdale South, Hinsdale Central, Westmont, West Chicago, Waubonsie Valley, and Naperville Central.
Our consortium has displayed a wide range of support for this initiative, with hundreds of businesspeople participating in one or more of the following ways:
• Education to Business Committee members, guiding
and designing the Student Leadership Academy
• Sponsor members, providing individual and business contributions to
help fund the program and make-up the shortfall from cuts in the state
funding
• Providers of facilities and materials of classroom space and technical
equipment as well as printing, meals, etc
• Contributors to fundraisers that provide scholarship monies
• Faculty members, facilitators and speakers to the students
• Interviewers, conducting mock sessions and providing constructive feedback
for students in a practice-hiring scenario
For more information:
Alison Greene
Nontraditional and Tech Prep Program Coordinator
(630) 942-2496
E-mail
