Alumni

In the latest #MyPathToGoogle product marketing manager, Xiomara Contreras, shares her best career tips and insights on what it’s like to find a role at the intersection of social justice issues, education, youth mentorship, and tech.

You wouldn’t be wrong in describing High Jump as an academic program, but time and time again, our students tell us that it’s more than that.  While not the program’s primary goal, community, and long-lasting friendships are just a couple of the added benefits that alumni proclaim. Extended support and networking opportunities with others who…

Jessica is a High Jump alumna who was part of Cohort 22. “As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized how lucky I was to be part of High Jump. It was the beginning of where everything has happened for me. It’s where I learned the tools I still use today, and it’s where I found a…

Cohort 22 alumnus Derrick grew up in Hyde Park with a mother who always taught him to value education and to constantly search for ways to move forward. When they learned about High Jump, they knew it was an opportunity for Derrick to receive the academic rigor he wasn’t getting at school. “High Jump was…

University of Pennsylvania freshman I’deyah was interviewed this past summer on ABC 7’s Chicago Graduation 2020 Special “The After Party.” Watch her full interview here. I’deyah has long used her talents to inspire other kids. At just seven years old, she published her first book to help budding authors find their voices through writing. “I…

Caroline is a High Jump alumna and a junior at the Latin School, which is where her own Teaching Assistants (TAs) attended when Caroline was enrolled at High Jump. “My TAs went to Latin and I looked up to them a lot,” she says. “I guess I did end up following in their footsteps!” This…

Featured by The Executives’ Club of Chicago in their Member Spotlight, John Akalaonu is Senior Vice President, Customer Delivery of CDK Global. He is also an active member of our Board of Directors and an alumnus of High Jump (Cohort 4). Born and raised in Chicago, John attended high school at Culver Academies following his…

Every High Jump 8th-grade student works one-on-one with teachers and staff to ensure a right-fit high school choice that will support their needs and goals. Amid school closures in 2020, High School Choice programming was continued via one-on-one virtual meetings— providing guidance and support for more than 150 students. Below is a list of the…

High school sophomore Denisse says her parents always told her, “Your education will make you someone one day,” and so they were excited to learn about High Jump’s free academic enrichment program. When Denisse first started at High Jump she felt panicked because it was a completely new environment. She started out being very quiet,…