Year Up’s National Alumni Summit Brings Together Graduates to Close the Opportunity Divide and “Reconnect the Disconnect”
Providence, Rhode Island (PRWEB) November 05, 2015 -- Continuing to celebrate the hard work, determination and success of Year Up graduates, Year Up’s National Alumni Association (NAA) will hold the Fourth Annual National Alumni Summit at the Hilton Providence in Providence, RI from November 5 – 7, 2015. More than 150 Year Up graduates from across the United States will come together to build deeper relationships, foster alumni engagement, and continue developing their professional skills.
“The Year Up program is just twelve months long, but Year Up is dedicated to supporting graduates throughout their careers,” said Katrina Hill, interim Chair of the Year Up National Alumni Association Board. “Our theme this year is ‘Reconnect the Disconnect,’ and we want to highlight how the National Alumni Association and local boards can help alumni continue growing professionally, and engage as many of the graduates to join us in the movement to close the Opportunity Divide.”
Year Up provides low-income young adults, ages 18-24, with six months of technical and professional skills training followed by a six-month corporate internship at companies like Hasbro and JPMorgan Chase. Eighty-five percent of graduates are employed or attending college fulltime within four months of completing the program, with average starting salaries of $32,000/year.
To provide its graduates with broader support, Year Up recently created a National Alumni Relations department that will partner with the NAA Board to advance Year Up’s alumni strategy.
“Closing the Opportunity Divide means helping our graduates continue advancing in their careers, and empowering them to help young adults who are out of work and out of school,” said Oneyda Escobar, Year Up NAA Board Member and Year Up Providence Advisory Board Member. “The NAA is working closely with Year Up staff to ensure graduates can actively contribute to Year Up’s success and fulfill the alumni motto of ‘Lift as I climb.’”
Year Up graduates who attend the summit will also have access to resources for professional and personal growth. The summit’s results and key insights will be shared with the nearly 8,000 individuals who have graduated from Year Up since the program’s launch in 2000.
In addition to Year Up’s national alumni leaders, this year’s event will include: Rhode Island’s Governor, Gina Raimondo; Providence Equity Senior Managing Director and Year Up Board Chair, Paul Salem; Year Up’s Founder and CEO, Gerald Chertavian; Year Up Providence Executive Director, Cathy Doyle; Year Up Providence Board Chair, Ted Fisher; and event sponsor Southwest Airlines.
About Year Up Inc.
Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Year Up achieves this mission through a high support, high expectation model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, internships and college credits. Its holistic approach focuses on students' professional and personal development to place these young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency. Year Up currently serves more than 2,700 students a year at sites in Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Jacksonville, the National Capital Region, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay Area, and South Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.yearup.org or http://www.youtube.com/yearupinc.
Roberto Zeledon, Year Up, http://www.yearup.org, +1 857-305-9995, [email protected]
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