作为我们社区外展工作的一部分, Civiltech积极推广并参与高中辅导计划. 此外，在公司内部，我们相信一个健全的实习计划的好处. 当这两种努力相碰撞时，结果是令人兴奋和值得的. 今年夏天, 我们很幸运地加入了我们的实习生十大最大的网络彩票平台, Oluwatosin Akinsanya (Tosin), a participant in the Chicago Scholars program whom we met at the 2016 First Look 公司 Exploration & 招聘会.
芝加哥学者是一个选择的组织, 火车, and mentors academically ambitious students from under-resourced communities to complete college and become the next generation of leaders. The program’s objectives are to help these first-generation college students stay focused on their college goals, 熟悉复杂和不熟悉的应用程序流程, 过渡到校园生活, 坚持到大学毕业, 然后过渡到职业生涯或研究生课程. An ultimate goal of the organization is to create leaders that will return to Chicago and enrich the community. Civiltech’s Mike Folkening first met Tosin when he approached our booth at the career fair. Tosin had attended the event hoping to gain tips and advice on how to function in the workplace and to learn about a career in engineering. “I wasn’t even passing out resumes,” he stated, explaining that a job search was not his intent. 当托辛走近民用科技公司的桌子, 迈克注意到他时髦的服装，说, “你看起来不像一个典型的工科学生,于是两人就一拍即合. 在他们的谈话, 迈克解释了办公室是怎样的, 两队, 项目得到了管理, 以及民用科技领导层是如何运作的. 然后迈克把托辛介绍给其他员工，进行了圆桌讨论. 托辛发现对话很有意义，很舒适，十大最大的网络彩票平台也很热情. 之后，民用科技公司在第二年夏天为托辛提供了实习机会. Tosin said that he was humbled by the invitation and that it reinforced the benefits of the Chicago Scholars program.
Tosin’s journey began years earlier and 6,000 miles away in his family home in Nigeria. His parents dreamed of providing their children the opportunity to attend prestigious universities and have successful careers. 追求梦想, 再加上尼日利亚的经济危机和博科圣地的危险活动, 促使他们决定把四个孩子送到美国. At age 13, Tosin landed in Baltimore with his mother, older brother, and two little sisters. 他的父亲留在尼日利亚维持他的生意. 在巴尔的摩短暂生活了一段时间之后, Tosin’s mother heard about job opportunities in Chicago and they boarded an Amtrak train to an uncertain future.
这家人在芝加哥的新生活最初很艰难. 托辛的母亲找到了一份看护者的工作, 这经常让她离开她的孩子几周. Tosin and his brother had to care for their younger sisters while attending school themselves. 此外，托辛想念他的父亲. He and his siblings felt their parents had sacrificed tremendously to provide them a safe and stable life, 以及他们在尼日利亚可能没有的教育机会, 所以他们决心要成功.
在罗杰斯公园的芝加哥沙利文高中上学, Tosin was selected to participate in Chicago Scholars his junior year and he enthusiastically took advantage of every program they offered. 当他的家人到达美国的时候, 他们说约鲁巴语, 尼日利亚主要使用的几种语言之一. Tosin was determined to improve his English speaking skills and credits Chicago Scholars, 还有他的高中, 帮助他. They provided access to books and encouraged him to enter events that required him to give presentations and speeches. He read aloud in class whenever possible and studied American movies, repeating the dialogue. Tosin had watched as his mom’s difficulty with language was a career obstacle despite having a good education. 但更重要的是, 他决心不让别人阻止他, 因为口音, 从清楚地表达他的想法.
托辛于2015年毕业于苏利文大学. 除了讲习班之外, 领导活动, 大学做准备, 和指导项目, Chicago Scholars helped Tosin navigate the complexities of applying to colleges while his family was processing their immigration documentation. 在芝加哥学者的帮助下, 托辛获得了威尔伯·赖特学院的明星奖学金，在那里他完成了两项学业
年的研究.
今年, Tosin was accepted into the Electrical Engineering program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and is beginning classes this fall. 基于对信号处理的兴趣，他选择了电气工程十大网络彩票平台大全. His internship at Civiltech gave him the opportunity to learn about traffic signal design work from some of our engineering staff.
在民用科技公司实习的时候, Tosin says that he enjoyed learning how much teamwork is involved in a project and that the company felt more like a family than a workplace. He also enjoyed visiting project sites and seeing firsthand how our environment can be changed for the better through good design. Learning about codes and standards and how they impact design was interesting to Tosin, and he learned new computer skills including MicroStation and various other engineering software programs.
的特殊利益, Tosin enjoyed learning about Civiltech’s participation in the City of Chicago’s Aldermanic Menu Program or C*NECT. 之前在第49选区议员那里实习, 乔•摩尔, Tosin had helped inspect deficiencies in neighborhoods and had participated in meetings with community members and leaders to determine what needs should be addressed through the menu program. 有机会从工程角度看这个项目, 根据Tosin, 让一切联系起来.”
感谢芝加哥学者, Tosin received mentoring and leadership as well as on-going support from consistent and caring staff. The program helped him stay focused, identify goals, get into college, and transition to UIUC. He credits Chicago Scholars for helping him learn how to socialize comfortably and with confidence, 并最终, 实现他的潜能. Tosin is hoping to give back to Chicago Scholars by applying what he’s learned and mentoring future participants.
With Civiltech, Tosin said that he met his goal of finding a place “to belong, become, and grow.“作为回报, Civiltech enjoyed the energy and fresh perspective provided by Tosin and our other outstanding interns. We look forward to watching Tosin and our other interns continue to thrive as well as to meeting future internship candidates through our on-going volunteer and mentoring work with Chicago Scholars.
Oh . . . 还有其他的兄弟姐妹? Tosin’s brother is entering his senior year this fall at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and one of his little sisters was the Valedictorian at Sullivan High School this spring.