College Exploration

FEMALE SPEAKER: Thanks to Siemens Building technologies over seventeen hundred Chicago public school students were given a chance to turn their academic excellence into scholarships from historically Black colleges and universities.
MALE SPEAKER: The event we are at today is the Siemens CPS Historically Black College Fair and Reception. It is one of the signature events we do as a district.
MALE SPEAKER: Siemens sponsors this event for us, it’s an opportunity to help students connect with schools that they probably wouldn’t be able to connect with ah, without this event.
MALE SPEAKER: We live in the community, we work in the community, our kids go to school in the community and so it’s ah, we should give back, we should be part of that in our business endeavors.
FEMALE SPEAKER: In its seventh year this public/private partnership exposes students to over thirty HBCU’s at the college fair.
MALE SPEAKER: To bring all of this HBCU’s together in one room on one day is like the ah, professional sports draft and instead of drafting athletes we’re drafting young intelligent minds.
FEMALE SPEAKER: With first generation college students we know that much more one on one and personalization makes the difference between aspiring for college and enrolling in college. So, the con -- conversation begins here but it continues on.
MALE SPEAKER: Siemens bringing all the recruits together and the students, that’s a marriage made in heaven. This serves the students and the adults and the Chicago community.
FEMALE SPEAKER: And at the evening reception HBCU’s had the opportunity to offer more than twenty five million dollars in scholarships making higher education more than a dream for exceptional CPS students.
MALE SPEAKER: I think that what they might have seen as an ambition prior to coming into a college fair, prior to attending the scholarship receptions ah, su-suddenly becomes much more realistic.
FEMALE SPEAKER: I just won a scholarship from Virginia State University for fifty-six thousand dollars.
MALE SPEAKER: I won a half scholarship to Fisk University.
MALE SPEAKER: Seventy-five hundred, seventy-five hundred.
FEMALE SPEAKER: I just won full tuition to Howard University.
MALE SPEAKER: Siemens doesn’t bring the educational in -- expertise nor does it bring the college admissions expertise but what Siemens does bring is the willingness to act as a facilitator to bring the parties together to make the opportunity happen.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Siemens is basically doing what needs to be done to insure that the children of America are educated.
MALE SPEAKER: Some of these kids might not have an opportunity to get a higher education if it wasn’t for ah, for this endeavor and these activities.
MALE SPEAKER: We have some tremendous students who have fought ah, tremendous odds to put themselves in position to be considered to be a part of this event and also these scholarship dollars.
MALE SPEAKER: This scholarship is important to me because it gives me a chance to help out my mom pay for school and it gives, give me a chance to just go away and experience new things.
MALE SPEAKER: It’s a room full of possibilities and potential but because of this fair it’s potential that’s going to be realized.
MALE SPEAKER: I’m very thankful to (inaudible), CPS and Siemens.
FEMALE SPEAKER: So, it’s a dream come fru -- come true and we can tell someone else, dreams do come true.