Over 340 students from seven CPS high schools with at least 80 percent of Latino student population were invited to learn and explore STEM-related fields at HACE’s first Annual STEM Career Conference, hosted at Google in Chicago on June 1st. The El Futuro STEM Career Conference, presented by the US Army, exposed students to professions in the STEM fields through interactive presentations, simulation workshops and a career trade show. Participating companies included the US. Army, Google, Salesforce, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Chicago Zoological Society, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Best Buy and AT&T.

HACE’s el Futuro program focuses on career development and career exploration for high school students. The program is meant to help them achieve better college entrance and completion rates by improving their prospects for fulfilling careers. The agenda included presentations about STEM careers, fun activities to engage students in technology and science, and a simulated trade show to network with recruiters from companies in STEM. Examples of workshops include “Army Cyber Command: Hacking for National Security”, and a demo of Google’s new tool called “title brush.” Participating schools were Currie, Schurz, Lakeview, Chicago Tech, Back of the Yards, Prosser Academy and Kennedy HS. This will become an annual event to encourage students to enter college with a clear career trajectory to obtain high income jobs.