Cathedral High School Helps Law Firm WilmerHale Celebrate 15 Years of Its Youth and Education Initiative
Boston, MA (PRWEB) July 11, 2013 -- This summer, fewer than three in 10 American teens will hold a summer job — and this number is on the decline. In fact, this is the lowest it's been since World War II. On June 12, the law firm of WilmerHale held an event to celebrate 15 years of its philanthropy model, which includes providing an opportunity for Boston high school students to participate in a paid summer internship program.
Cathedral High School is proud to be a designated philanthropic partner of the firm’s and this summer WilmerHale welcomed four new interns from Cathedral, rising seniors Angie Casiano, Amber Howe, Colstein Pulviose and Joanne St. Laurent to its Summer Leadership Institute (SLI).
The event held June 12, helped the firm to welcome back more than 50 SLI intern alumni. These alumni from the WilmerHale program have gone on to be successful in the fields of physics, medicine, law, marketing, education, and social services. Half of the SLI Alumni attending the celebration are also alumni of Cathedral High School (Cathedral).
WilmerHale began the Youth and Education Initiative in 1997 and the first Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) program was held the following year. Today, the firm continues to select a group of high school students to participate in the SLI each summer. In total, the firm has hired 111 youth from its partner organizations which include the Hyde Square Task Force, Citizen Schools, the Mayor’s Pic Program/Boston Bar Association and Cathedral High School. Of the 111, nearly 100 percent graduated from high school and most have gone on to post-secondary programs, attending colleges like Smith, Boston College, Bates and UMass, or participating in programs like Year Up.
Each student who is interested in being a part of the SLI must successfully navigate an application and interview process in order to be considered for acceptance into the program. The students who are accepted will receive job training and a valuable introduction to a professional work environment. These students are required to perform community service and to take classes taught at the firm, which include course work in civics, humanities, mathematics and public speaking. In order to successfully complete the SLI, each student must make a presentation based on his or her SLI experience. The presentations are given at a celebratory event that brings together WilmerHale employees and the nonprofit leadership and staff from its partner organizations.
Cathedral has been fortunate to be part of WilmerHale’s philanthropy model from the start. While the SLI remains a hallmark of the partnership, WilmerHale contributes to Cathedral in many more ways, always centering on mentorship, volunteerism and philanthropy.
Among the most utilized and valued programs are the College Application Workshops and the Career Days. Each fall, WilmerHale employees volunteer their time to help Cathedral seniors with their college essays; they have served more than 600 students in this capacity. The firm also holds an annual Career Day at the school, from which a total of 1,600 students have benefitted. For Cathedral and in line with the firm’s philanthropy model, WilmerHale has also provided financial, in-kind, volunteer and pro bono legal support over those 15 years.
Paul V. Rawate, Cathedral High School, http://www.cathedralhighschool.net, (617) 542-2325 218, [email protected]
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