By: Ashmar Mandou

For Ashburn resident Guadalupe “Nelly” Fabila entering the IT field is a dream come true. “Ever since I could remember I’ve always had a passion for math and science. I was always interested in those topics and excelled at them,” said Fabila, who was able to have her dream realized as an intern for ADM Investor Services in the IT Development department thanks in large part to the CME Group’s Star Scholar Mayoral Award. “I heard about this opportunity through my school and I just took advantage of the opportunity,” said Fabila who was selected from a group of eligible candidates. As recipient of the award, Fabila is helping to write code for proprietary programs the firm is developing. Fabila is just one of many who have benefitted from the CME Group Foundation as they granted more than $2 million to 14 organizations in Illinois to support STEM education initiatives from pre-kindergarten through college.

“CME Group Foundation is determined to close the gender and race gap and we are elated to support organizations and students like Nelly who are bright and enthusiastic about STEM,” said Anita Liskey, managing director of Corporate Marketing & Communications at CME Group. “By funding programs that span from the cradle to career development, we hope to spark system-wide change that will benefit all Chicago area students. Today’s children will shape the future of the world’s most important industries – including our own – so we work hard to give them the tools they need to achieve their full potential.” 

Projects receiving funding and strategic support range from professional development programming for teachers of young children in underprivileged Illinois communities to LEAP Innovations, a Chicago-based education innovation hub that connects educators and technology innovators to research, pilot and scale personalized learning strategies to transform the way kids learn.  As part of its grants, CME Group Foundation renewed its support of LEAP Innovations, one of the key organizations in Chicago that is fostering change in the classroom. Additionally, CME Group Foundation is the largest donor to Chicago Public Schools’ Computer Science 4 All (CS4All) program, an initiative to make computer science a core curriculum in Chicago Public Schools. CPS is the only major metropolitan school district in the country to require computer science coursework for graduation, beginning with the class of 2020. In addition to funding the program, CME Group is offering two CPS teachers the opportunity to learn about technology through an externship with the company this summer. “I am super grateful to CME Group for providing me this opportunity to reach my goals,” said Fabila, who is currently a student at Dominican University where she will major in computer science. “After graduation I hope to give back to my community and teach a younger generation about the exciting careers in STEM, such as computer science and coding.”

If you are interested to learn more about CME Group Foundation, visit them at www.cmegroup.com.