“Summer Searchers that stay with us are earning degrees, getting jobs, and finding their purpose in life.“

We’ve reached the conclusion of our four-part #BehindTheData introductory series!

For the past three weeks, our data champion Sherri Brooks has looked at the demographics of our Summer Searchers, as well as explored how we’re striving to improve both how we recruit and how we support young Black men (male-identifying participants, who identify as Black/African American) in our program. 

This week, Sherri will zoom out to look at how Summer Search students and alumni are succeeding and soaring in life.

Summer Searchers are Thriving

At Summer Search, our commitment to our participants goes beyond just numbers. It’s about ensuring every young person feels seen, supported, and empowered through every phase of their journey with us.

These statistics below are just one way that we track the long-term success of our students and the impact / effectiveness of our program. We are grateful to share that overall, Summer Searchers are out here thriving; earning degrees, getting jobs, and finding their purpose in life. In FY23:

• 99% of high school seniors in the Class of 2023 graduated, compared to the national average of 87%.
• 61% of post-secondary students who were accepted to college have earned a Bachelor’s Degree within six (6) years.
• 68% of alumni are employed full-time within 6 months of earning their highest degree, compared to a national average of 57%*.
• 51% of alumni are feeling like their life has a valued meaning and purpose.

Achieving stronger equity in our program is important because we are seeing these kinds of positive results. Summer Searchers that stay with us long-term are reaching their goals, achieving their dreams, and breaking through ceilings.

Thank you for tuning into #BehindTheData! We look forward to sharing more stories and statistics in the coming months about the ways we are serving our young people, and how we can do it better.

#BehindTheData Series: 

• Thurs. 2/15: Who our Summer Searchers are. 
• Thurs. 2/22: Who we hope to serve more. 
• Thurs. 2/29: How we hope to serve our young people better. 
• Thurs. 3/7 (Today!): How our participants are thriving. 

Note: The presented data reflects Summer Search’s 2023 Fiscal Year (“FY23”), which is October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023.

*NACE: 2021 National Association of Colleges and Employers First Destinations Findings and Analysis Report – employment rate = average full-time employment rate within 6 months of earning a bachelor’s degree for those who graduated college in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.