St. Louis CAPS Alumni Return
As we turn the page from 2017 to 2018, the New Year brings exciting opportunities and experiences for St. Louis CAPS student associates. It also brings the opportunity to visit with St. Louis CAPS alumni that are back in town from college over winter break. Devonte Burse and Nevin Horne both graduated from Affton High School in 2016 and were part of the first St. Louis CAPS Global Business and Entrepreneurship course. Devonte is a sophomore at Missouri Western State University and Nevin is a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University.
While back in town over winter break Devonte and Nevin stopped by STL Venture Works and provided feedback to the current cohort of student associates on their pitch presentations. They also served as panelists at a St. Louis CAPS student and parent recruitment session. During the panel discussion they provided examples of how they continue to realize how well prepared they were for college and the real-world because of the professional skills they learned from business partners while in St. Louis CAPS. Nevin coordinates all of the on-campus entertainment events for Ohio Wesleyan and regularly communicates with business and industry professionals. He has a team comprised of other college students that also provide event support and he recounted instances when he had to teach them how to restructure their email communication to more effectively coordinate tasks with business partners.
On the engineering side of St. Louis CAPS, John Iffland an Affton High School 2017 graduate stopped by to chat with the Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing student associates. He is currently a freshman at Missouri Science and Technology. John was the first student associate in the Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing course to acquire a paid summer internship at a window manufacturing company, Winco Window Company, prior to heading off to college. He was able to secure the internship through a recommendation by a business partner that he did a job shadow with during the school year. In addition, John secured this internship that had previously only been reserved for students already in college. He said the company has offered him the ability to return each summer to the internship while he is in college.
At St. Anthony’s Medical Center, the Medicine, Healthcare, and Bioscience student associates welcomed back Julia Farson, a 2017 graduate of Mehlville High School. Julia is a freshmen at Rockhurst University. She spoke to current student associates about how the job shadows and internships she experienced during St. Louis CAPS set her college application apart and continues to provide her advantages over her peers. Julia credits St. Louis CAPS with providing experiences and a network of professionals to learn from as the key components she referenced on competitive college admissions and scholarship applications.
The St. Louis CAPS Medicine, Healthcare, and Bioscience course has also tapped into a network of alumni that are attending college in the St. Louis area. Sara Tiro is a 2017 Affton High School graduate attending St. Louis University. She is pursuing a degree in nursing and is a frequent visitor that interacts with current student associates. Tara answers questions about what college is like and reinforces the need to master the skill of time management. From time to time, she is also able to participate in site visits and job shadows alongside current student associates.
