Recent CPS Graduate is Building His Construction Career at City Colleges

18-year-old Antoine Young grew up around two grandfathers who were "always fixing things." Now, with the support of the Chicago Roadmap, a comprehensive partnership between City Colleges and Chicago Public Schools, the recent CPS graduate is building a successful career of his own in construction.

Antoine participated in the Chicago Builds construction training program during his senior year of high school, where he was able to earn City Colleges credit at no cost through the Early College program. There, he was also introduced to a 10-week summer program called Aim to Launch (A2L), part of City Colleges' Career Launch Chicago youth apprenticeship program. A2L prepares students for youth apprenticeships in IT, construction, manufacturing, or pharmacy tech.

Antoine is currently participating in the construction cohort of A2L at Kennedy-King College's Dawson Technical Institute, through which he's gaining real-world skills and working on earning his OSHA-30 certification, an industry-recognized credential in the construction field.

"This class has already benefitted me," he said. "I'm learning so much more than I could have imagined, and my resume is growing. I really enjoy being in the college setting, too."

Antoine was able to leverage the experience to secure a one-year youth apprenticeship in construction management with Power Construction starting this fall. As he completes the apprenticeship, he also plans to continue his college journey at Dawson Tech to earn his associate degree in construction management. Thanks to his Early College courses and A2L, he's already halfway towards that goal and positioned to graduate early. Additionally, due to his good grades in high school, Antoine earned the Star Scholarship, meaning he'll graduate debt free.

"The people in these programs-the instructors and the support staff-are really important. I didn't realize it before, but they're giving us an incredible opportunity to change our lives and the lives of our families," Antoine said.

Antoine is grateful to have found unique programs through the Chicago Roadmap that have put him on a path to success, and he's already thinking about how he wants to give back. Eventually, he wants to start his own construction business so he can help build up Auburn Gresham-the community he grew up in.

To learn more about the Chicago Roadmap, visit chicagoroadmap.org.