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St. Louis CAPS Kickoff Day

The 2017-18 St. Louis CAPS student associates kicked off the year on August 9th by participating in a professional skills bootcamp that included guest speakers, dining etiquette, hand shakes, DISC profile, design challenge, and pitch competition.  The program includes students from five high schools and four school districts.  St. Louis CAPS is the only multi-district CAPS program in St. Louis and is part of the national CAPS Network that spans 10 states and over 60 school districts.  Over the summer student associates read the book 5 Steps to the Professional Presence that Pays by Naretha Hopson and completed a DiSC personal assessment profile.

The students were welcomed to the new school year by Affton School District superintendent Dr. Steve Brotherton and assistant superintendent Dr. Travis Bracht.  An overview of the national CAPS Network was provided as well as tips on how to give a professional hand shake.  The rest of the morning was spent learning from various business partners and the students received tips on dining etiquette prior to engaging in a professional luncheon.  In the afternoon, student associates were divided into cross curricular teams and competed in a design challenge that culminated with a pitch competition judged by St. Louis CAPS business partners.

The Design Challenge winners are listed below.

Michael Blaes, Oakville High School – Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing

Iva Grbesa, Mehlville High School – Medicine, Healthcare, & Bioscience

Taylor Light, Affton High School – Medicine, Healthcare, & Bioscience

Madelyn McClure, Oakville High School – Medicine, Healthcare, & Bioscience

Sydney Mitchell, Bayless High School – Global Business & Entrepreneurship

Patsy Sloan, Mehlville High School – Medicine, Healthcare, & Bioscience