The Evanston Township High School (ETHS) iKit Summer Internship Program has begun its fourth year. The program places graduating seniors with local employers in ten-week paid internships related to their career interests. This year the program continues to grow and has been expanded to include rising seniors who completed the recent Spring Job Shadow Program and have been encouraged by their host employers to apply for the iKit summer program. Evanston Mayor’s Employers Advisory Council (MEAC) has placed 34 applicants into paid internships, with 23 going into healthcare career programs with Northshore University Health System and Northwestern Medicine in Evanston. MEAC hopes many of the interns will be hired by their host employers after completing their internships.
MEAC’s model of bringing local employers, Evanston Township High School, Oakton College, and the City of Evanston together to provide career pathway opportunities for high school students has attracted the attention of the Niles Township D219 School District. The Niles Township trustees convened a meeting in May to explore adopting the MEAC model. Twenty-five representatives from the Township government, along with the four municipalities in the Township and the two Township high schools, attended the meeting. MEAC shared its model, and both teams discussed developing an action plan. Representatives from D219 are taking the first step by developing a charter document as a foundation for their initiative.
