Summer Searchers, you did it!!
Over the past several months, our students all across our network have been celebrating their milestones and next steps — from graduations, to certificate completions, to graduate degrees, to new careers, and much more. For many of our young people, they are the firsts in their families to take those next steps. #FirstGen
Our Class of 2021 has overcome so much along their journeys: quarantines, distanced and hybrid learning, social unrest, and so much uncertainty, on top of not only the day-to-day academic challenges, but the systemic barriers that under-resourced communities already face.
Here are a few of the many wonderful graduations and celebrations from the Summer Search Class of 2021. We are so proud to witness your growth and determination!
Thomas, from Summer Search Boston, earned his diploma from The English High School and spoke at the graduation ceremony held at Fenway Park!
He proudly states that he is "A product of the Boston Public Schools" in his celebratory Instagram post.
In Seattle, wherever possible our staff showed up and cheered on our high school and post-secondary graduates. Pictured above, on the left, is mentor Monica with two of her Renton High grads, Fatima and Giecel!
Our team also worked closely with Jaylin (above, right), one of our entrepreneurial alums, to create Class of 2021 shirts, featuring the on-point pun: "We can do virtually anything!"
Our staff in Philadelphia also traveled all over the city to celebrate their grads. Here are (from left to right) Zayon, Zion, and Kamau reveling in their accomplishments.
P.S., we love those Summer Search graduation stoles!!
Here are two New York City alumnae who just earned their graduate school degrees!
Nathaly Abreu (left) completed her Master of Arts degree from The New School in NYC. For her final thesis in Media Studies, she created a sound map - a unique collection of sounds and voices to honor the Bronx, her home.
As Nathaly shared on LinkedIn, "I'm so proud to introduce my thesis, Bronxounds: The Aura of the X, a sound map that turns an ear to the Bronx, listening through its complications and revealing the aura of this very special place."
Riana Shah (right) not only graduated from Harvard and MIT earning her MBA and MPA, but she and her partner just welcomed their first child!
Looking back on these accomplishments, Riana wrote a powerful reflection about how none of this would have been possible without the love and co-parenting support from her partner Frank, and how parental leave and support can have such an impact on creating more equitable workplaces.
"If we want gender equity, paternity leave is one of the most important measures we need to advocate for... If we want women to have it all, changing our society and workplaces to enable childcare and co-parenting are non-negotiables."
Her message resonated with so many people that it went viral on LinkedIn, getting 1.6 million views and 25K likes!
And finally, in case you missed it, our Bay Area team has been sharing photos, reflections, and post-secondary plans from our graduating high schoolers all summer long! Do yourself a favor and go scroll through their Instagram and celebrate our #SummerSearchGrads.
Leave a comment to say congratulations to the entire Summer Search Class of 2021!