By John O’Neill, LISC Chicago’s New Communities Program
Most of the year, Michael Harris Jr. is a mild-mannered student at Austin Polytechnical Academy on the West Side. But this summer, Harris was transformed into “Solar Mike” — thanks to Youth Ready Chicago at the Science Institute at Columbia College.
Harris was one of 20 students, recruited through NCP, who received paid, eight-week internships at the Science Institute through the city’s Youth Ready Chicago program.
The program is intended to help people ages 14 to 24 find internships, apprenticeships and jobs in Chicago’s public and private sectors, providing hands-on experience and the chance to learn marketable skills.
At Columbia’s Science Institute, students learned about alternative energy sources and other topics in a program called “Science in Everyday Life.” They interviewed people on the street about solar power and posted videos of those interviews – and their own efforts – on YouTube. Which is how Solar Mike was created.
“We didn’t want just a boring documentary, with people talking. We decided to have a superhero,” Harris said at an August reception honoring the 20 interns. “So I said, ‘I’ll do it!'” His quickly created costume of green garbage bags, goggles, duct tape and solar panels was a hit with his fellow interns, who hooted and clapped as it was shown at the reception.
Students spent 20 hours a week at the Institute. While there, besides studying energy, the interns took a walking architectural tour of the Loop, a double-decker bus tour and a trip to the John Hancock Observatory. They also learned some life skills, such as how to prepare a resume and conduct themselves in a job interview.
“They gave us a lot of information, almost like job training,” said Imani West, a sophomore at Jones College Prep in the South Loop. “This was my first job, so I learned how to act and how to react to people.”
West also praised her supervisor, Marcelo Caplan, technology coordinator at the Science Institute, for the way he explained power and energy. “I didn’t even know what a circuit was,” she said. “Marcelo made it seem so simple, and I always thought it was so complicated.”
This is the first year the Science Institute teamed up with Youth Ready Chicago. “For us, it was a learning experience, as well,” said Victoria Liu, outreach coordinator for the institute.
Besides the work by the institute and its staff, Liu said, the students also benefited from contributions from the John Hancock Observatory, Adler Planetarium, Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co., Chicago Architecture Foundation, Grand Lux Cafe, Cheesecake Factory and California Pizza Kitchen. “We had a great time with them,” Liu said. “We gave them something to bring back to their communities.”
Denise Weekly will bring back a greater awareness of her city. “I learned a lot,” said Weekly, 17, a junior at Englewood High School who wants to be a lawyer. She enjoyed learning about Chicago architecture the most.
Before the internship, “I only knew two buildings down here – and one of them was the Water Tower,” she said. The job training also was crucial, Weekly said. “They taught us job skills, how to do resumes and how to express ourselves.”
Caplan reminded the students that their ties to the institute don’t end just because summer is over. He urged them to stay in touch and let the staff know how they’re doing. “This relationship will continue until you decide it should stop,” Caplan said. “We are here for you.”
Zafra Lerman, head of the Science Institute, flew back into town just in time for the students’ reception. She encouraged students to aim high in their education. “Your goal now is to graduate from high school, go to college,” Lerman said. “Our planet is sick. We need lots of new scientists with a new way of thinking. We look to you to become those people.”
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