KC Cares: Awesome Ambitions tours teens through future careers
Provided by Awesome Ambitions
Everyone deserves a chance to dream about what their working life might hold for them. That’s the sentiment behind Awesome Ambitions.
Founded by journalists Cynthia Newsome and Angela Curry, the program aims to make college and career paths more accessible to young women. Once a month, they meet separately with groups of eighth-graders and high school students from the Kansas City and Hickman Mills schools.
“We’re hoping to expose the young ladies to different experiences, different career choices. We’re hoping to help them find their voice. We’re hoping to help them figure out what they want to do and help them decide for themselves what their personal goals are,” says Denise White, vice president of Awesome Ambitions.
That might mean getting a tour of a local business such as UMB Bank or J.E. Dunn Construction.
Each session has a theme, such as finance, budgeting, healthcare careers or other related topics. Speakers talk about different aspects of that theme in smaller break-out groups.
Employees at the companies discuss their jobs, responsibilities and what kind of education they needed to be successful in their roles. A talk might also cover essentials like business etiquette and elevator speeches.
In one session on budgeting, the girls got play money and an assigned career and had to make choices about living situations and transportation while also dealing with random pop-up events like traffic tickets.
A key part of these field trips is “showing them different career opportunities that are out there that they may not have been aware of, that they did not think that maybe they could accomplish,” White says.
They try to keep the same girls coming back each year, from eighth to 12th grade.
Provided by Awesome Ambitions
“We’ve had girls come into our program, I’ve seen them come in so shy and not make eye contact and not know how to ask questions, and as they grow in the program, they begin to blossom, begin to become comfortable with themselves,” White says. “They learn to make eye contact. We teach how to shake a hand, how to speak clearly and confidently.”
White says she has found her own voice through volunteering with Awesome Ambitions.
“My favorite part is growing along with them and seeing them grow,” she says.
Giving her time to the organization and providing resources to young women is personal for White.
Provided by Awesome Ambitions
“I am a product of Kansas City, Mo., School District myself. And I was blessed that I came out of school, I went to college, got a college degree and am still working in my field, but there are people that I went to school with didn’t have same opportunities that I had,” she says. “… There are girls that I went to school with who were just as capable as I was, but they didn’t have the same support system.”
Many program alumni are now on the other side of things, coming back as speakers representing their workplaces.
White says girls who complete the program tend to have higher graduation rates, are more likely to go to college and less likely to have a teen pregnancy.
Beyond the regular monthly programs, Awesome Ambitions also takes girls on college tours. Previous trips have included Atlanta and Nashville. In addition to showing them the campuses, they also visit museums and historic sites while they’re there.
University of Kansas student Sydne Sylvan, a graduate of St. Teresa’s Academy, enjoyed her time as a participant with Awesome Ambitions.
“I think my favorite thing was meeting new women. They tried to bring in women who were really good at their profession. … After they presented, I was able to go up to them and get their contact information, and a lot of them I still reach out to and still follow on LinkedIn to this day,” she says.
Before participating in Awesome Ambitions, Sylvan didn’t really know what the field of human resources was, but now that’s what she wants to do as a career.
“I want to make the workforce more equal and more equitable for all,” she says.
Sylvan says she would encourage other girls to try the program.
“Stuff like this doesn’t come around often. I wish I had joined when I was in middle school, but I didn’t know about it, so I was in high school. You get to meet a lot of amazing women. You get to learn things about scholarships, college readiness, resumes, anything that you need to know for your adult life,” she says.
For more information about Awesome Ambitions, visit awesomeambitions.com.
Provided by Awesome Ambitions
