October 6, 2011

“Marketing and incentives = AP Microeconomics,” a student commented about the most recent visit to Johnny Cupcakes. Not quite the takeaway you would expect after a visit to the company famous for turning traditional business practices upside down. Students loved hearing about how a simple joke about cupcakes turned into a multi-million dollar business, all without a business plan, start-up loans, investors, wholesalers and advertising. Many STEP students have dreams and creative aspirations and the people at Johnny Cupcakes shows them they, too can achieve great things. Students also appreciated the caring and family-oriented work environment. Thanks to the people at Johnny Cupcakes who always make us feel like part of their family.

October 13, 2011

Amory Architects create beautiful spaces for their clients to work, play, reflect, and live in. Amory’s employees listen to their clients’ needs and wishes and then design solutions, all within certain parameters such as the site, the climate, the people who will be using the space, and of course, the budget. At a recent visit, students were challenged to design a 20‘x20’ home. We’re looking forward to sharing their creative solutions with our friends at Amory and thank them for asking our students to “think out of the box” or could it be that they were asking our students to “think within the box”?!

October 5, 2011

Visits to Essential Design are high on the must-go list for STEP students. At Essential, students are introduced to researchers, designers and engineers whose clients include some of the most prestigious, innovative companies and institutions in the world. Students are impressed that these busy, in-demand people are willing to spend time with them and introduce them to the field of design and innovation. At the most recent visit, students learned that collaboration is a key element in making Essential a successful company and a great place to work. One student noted, “I learned that when you work with others you can come up with better ideas.” Thanks to all the people at Essential Design for all their time and efforts on our behalf. The next group of students is eagerly awaiting their turn.

FOCUS Gallery was buzzing Thursday night as STEP hosted an evening with music, martini luge, wine and creative eats. The event was sold out – the STEP team was inspired by the generosity of the guests attending and broke through their fundraising goal for the evening!
All the people in the room truly embraced the mantra of one person or experience can change the course of an individuals life.

Click here to view photos from the event

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

How many people even know that a company like Continuum exists? But then, how many people think about who designed the office chair they are sitting in, or the packaging for their toothbrush, or the new common spaces at a worldwide hotel chain? Continuum does all that and more. STEP students have had their eyes opened and their imaginations piqued by tours at Continuum. Most recently, a student made her second visit, even more convinced that she would like to pursue industrial design as a career. The people at Continuum designed a special “PB&J Challenge” for the students, allowing them to draw and brainstorm ideas. Employees also shared their personal stories, which the students loved. Thanks to all the great people at Continuum for yet another inspiring visit!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Challenging yourself to introduce yourself to a complete stranger and then engaging in conversation can be a bit intimidating, even for an adult. At Bloomingdale’s on a recent tour, students did just that and not only learned that they could do it, but it that it could be fun! The Bloomingdale’s tour underscored the importance of communications and students learned that the public speaking skills they practice in English class will be invaluable in the working world. Students also learned about leadership and work culture, which is so important in creating a great experience for workers and customers. Thanks to our friends at Bloomingdale’s for another wonderful tour!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Introducing students to Critical Thinking in a business environment is a hallmark of the STEP program. At Tedeschi’s, students worked in teams to develop a plan for a new convenience store. They thought about ways to build stores that would attract their peers. One student remarked, “I learned that to have a successful business, a company needs group work.” Another student was inspired by Tedeschi’s plans to sell more healthy foods. He has worked with Boston-based youth organizations to raise awareness about nutrition and hopes to connect them with Tedeschi’s. Who knows: maybe a creative collaboration is about to happen? Thanks to the great team at Tedeschi’s for another excellent experience!

Come and support STEP on October 13th
at
Focus Gallery, Cohasset
Good Food, Good wine and Good Tunes
Click here for details

Since its inception in 2009, the mission of STEP has been to introduce students to a multitude of career opportunities, helping inner city students identify the relevance of continuing their education and to engage Corporate Partners in the process of providing students access to real world work environments.

During the 2010-2011 school year 86 students from the John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science and the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers participated in 350 individual tours with 25 major corporations in the Greater Boston Area.

In order to begin measuring STEP’s impact, we conducted a survey of students at the O’Bryant School
who participated in STEP in Spring 2010, Fall 2010 and Spring 2011.

Click here to review the results and feedback from volunteers, students and corporate partners!

Students, staff, representatives of the business community and the STEP team gathered Thursday to celebrate STEP’s 2nd annual graduation. Seniors Christina Perry, Aldwayne Demontegnac and Justin Crespo-Ortiz spoke eloquently about their experiences with STEP and introduced some of the corporate partners who have worked with STEP and the O’Bryant students this year. David Hoffman, Community Relations Liaison for the Boston Celtics, spoke about working with the OB students and told a story about how he learned an important lesson about hard work from his 8th grade history teacher. O’Bryant seniors were recognized for their work with STEP, which included outings to corporate workplaces and workshops on resume writing and interview skills. It was announced at the event that Ms. Angela Robins, currently OB’s College and Career Center advisor, will become OB’s STEP liaison.