A group of incoming City Colleges of Chicago students is starting their college and career journeys at the same time this fall.

Through the Career Launch Chicago (CLC) youth apprenticeship program, part of City Colleges and Chicago Public Schools’ Chicago Roadmap partnership, 10 students have been selected to participate in youth apprenticeship programs at notable employers across the city.

On Aug. 18, the students and employers joined together at Wright College for Career Launch Chicago Announcement Day — a celebration of what’s to come. Employers from Advocate Health Care, Focal Point, Northwestern Medicine, Power Construction, and Sloan officially welcomed the youth apprentices to their companies, where they’ll spend the next year gaining hands-on skills, contributing to the organizations, and earning a paycheck.

Antoine Young and Jalilah Alicea, youth apprentices from last year’s CLC cohort, shared remarks at the event about what they took from the experience.

“My dreams are possible because of this unique program. To the students just starting their Career Launch Chicago journeys this fall, I wish you luck, and I can’t wait for you to be in my shoes next year,” said Young, a Kennedy-King College student who completed his youth apprenticeship with POWER Construction and is now an assistant project engineer at the company.

“My family is so proud I am working at Northwestern at such a young age. No one in my family has really done this. Programs like CLC do not just change careers, they change lives,” said Alicea, a Malcolm X College student who was a pharmacy tech youth apprentice at Northwestern Memorial Hospital last year.

Through CLC, Alicea is moving on to the role of radiology tech assistant at the hospital this fall.

Over the summer, all 10 of the youth apprentices also completed the Aim 2 Launch program, which prepared them for the opportunities and allowed them to gain college credits for free. Aim 2 Launch is also possible through the Chicago Roadmap.

This article was originally published here.