Antoine Young, 18, grew up with two grandfathers who were “always fixing things,” and now, with the help of Chicago Roadmap, a comprehensive partnership between the City Colleges of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools, the recent Chicago Public Schools graduate is building a successful career in the construction industry.
Antoine participated in the Chicago Build construction training program during his senior year of high school, where he was able to earn City College credits for free through the Early College Program. The program also introduced him to a 10-week summer program called Aim to Launch (A2L), which is part of City College’s Career Launch Chicago youth apprenticeship program. A2L prepares students for youth apprenticeships in IT, construction, manufacturing or pharmacy technology.
Antoine is currently attending the A2L construction course at Kennedy King College’s Dawson Technical Institute, where he is gaining practical skills and working towards achieving his OSHA-30 certification, an industry-recognised qualification in the construction sector.
“This class has already benefited me,” he said. “I’ve learned so much more than I ever expected and it’s added to my resume. I’m also really enjoying being in the college environment.”
Antoine has used this experience to begin a one-year junior traineeship in construction management with Power Construction this fall. After completing his traineeship, he plans to continue his college career at Dawson Tech University to earn an associate’s degree in construction management. Thanks to the early college courses and A2L, he is already halfway to that goal and is in a position to graduate early. Additionally, his strong grades in high school earned Antoine a STAR scholarship, which will allow him to graduate debt-free.
“The people who work in these programs are so important – the instructors and the support staff. I didn’t realize it before, but they give us an amazing opportunity to change our lives and our families’ lives,” Antoine said.
Antoine is grateful to have found a unique program through Chicago Roadmap that has set him on a path to success, and he’s already thinking about how he wants to give back. Ultimately, he hopes to start his own construction company and help improve the community of Auburn Gresham, where he grew up.
For more information on the Chicago Roadmap, visit chicagoroadmap.org.
