Page 20 - SPIRIT-Fall2017
P. 20

CORPORATE
            WomanofHeart                                                                                                                                                                        PARTNERS
                                                                                                                                                                                                   I nitiative

                                                                                         graduation ceremonies and talk about
                                                                                         their futures.
               Empowered intellectually, spiritually and morally, graduates              What are the most challenging aspects                         Calling All College-age Alumnae and Prospective Companies!
               serve as responsible members of the global community.                     of your work?
                                                                                           The most challenging aspects of                                              Plan now to participate in Cor Jesu’s
               Erin Thiemann ’09                                                         my job are the systemic barriers that                        ALUMNAE I.N.C. NETWORKING EVENT ON JANUARY 4, 2018!
                                                                                         our families face each and every day.
               “The common good embraces the sum    How and when did your passion for ser-  Institutionalized racism has created a             Last January, we launched the first Cor Jesu Alumnae I.N.C. (Internship Networking Connections), a program designed to
               total of all those conditions of social life   vice take root?                                                                  facilitate connections between our college-aged alumnae, and organizations seeking candidates for internships. Of the 23
               which enable individuals, families and   My passion for service took root   wealth gap in this country that is par-             companies and over 50 students who participated, nearly one-third of CJ alumnae obtained a summer internship through
               organizations to achieve complete and                                     ticularly palpable in St. Louis, and we               this first-of-its-kind program!
               effective fulfillment.”              during CJ’s senior service at City   see the differences in wealth for black
                                       -Pope John XXIII  Academy. Immediately after college, I                                                 “The INC program gave me the opportunity to connect with an organization I would have otherwise not had access to or
               Working for the common good has inspired   began two years with an AmeriCorps   and white families very starkly in our          even known about,” stated Katherine Tarlas ’15. “My internship this past summer with World Pediatric Project was empower-
                                                                                                                                               ing and engaging. I was given the responsibility of coordinating an event and was held accountable for its success which
               Erin Thiemann for myriad years. After gradu-  program called City Year. I worked   region. Families in our public schools       provided me with firsthand experience. This made the experience so much more than taking direction from others because
               ating from Cor Jesu in 2009, she has worked                               in the city are working multiple jobs                 I gained more knowledge and skills in my field of study.”
               to “enable individuals, families and organi-  in Milwaukee Public Schools, where I   in order to not only put food on the
               zations to achieve complete and effective   learned that as much as we need good                                                With several new organizations already on board for 2018, and this year’s exciting addition of permanent entry-level op-
               fulfillment,” by majoring in International   teachers, we also need people who   table, but to create a future out of a         portunities, we expect I.N.C. to be bigger and better than ever! And we are always on the lookout for new connections to
               Affairs from Marquette University in 2012,                                meager paycheck. The other chal-                      offer our high-caliber alumnae. If you work for an organization that may be interested in accessing potential hires from this
               earning an M.S.W. from Washington Univer-  are working on system-level change.   lenge is how inaccessible the financial        pool of amazing young women, please let us know!
               sity in St. Louis in 2016 and serving others in   Our students were working hard to
               work and volunteer capacities today.  learn concepts like multiplication   mainstream has been and continues                                                   Important dates to put on your calendar:
                  As the College Savings Account Coordi-                                 to be. We are so lucky to have a great                                                Ongoing (Opened September 18):
               nator with the City of St. Louis Treasurer’s   tables, but when their families were   partner in our credit union, 1st Fi-
               Office, Erin runs College Kids, a program that   in crisis, those kids were just trying                                                                      Registration is open for college-aged CJ alumnae.
               provides a children’s savings account for   to get through the day. After Ameri-  nancial, for working with us to create          College-aged CJ alumnae complete the online registration form and upload their résumé within career category(ies)
               every kindergartner in a public and charter                               a program for all families, regardless                                          of their choosing by logging on to www.corjesu.org/INC.
               school within the city of St. Louis. Because   Corps, I got my a master’s degree in   of immigration status or English lan-
               only three percent of Missouri families   social work at Washington University                                                                                      October–December 2017:
               were saving for college, the City of St. Louis   because I knew I wanted to pursue a   guage ability.                                 CJ alumnae and corporations/organizations view the I.N.C. web page at www.corjesu.org/INC for matches
               Treasurer’s Office, in 2015, launched College                             How did Cor Jesu help prepare you to                                                     and begin contacting one another.
               Kids to jumpstart college savings plans for   career in public service.   “transform the world through your
               families. Thanks to the success of the pro-  What have you found to be the most im-  faith, compassion, integrity and impas-                             January 4, 2018: Networking Event at Cor Jesu
               gram and Erin’s outreach, more than 10,000   portant and rewarding aspects of your   sioned service”?
               St. Louis students in kindergarten, first and   work with College Kids, Head Start and                                             CJ alumnae and corporations/organizations meet at Cor Jesu to make one-on-one contact and pursue next steps.
               second grades now have a college-savings   the Child Development Account Task   In the same way that Cor Jesu                   In addition to networking with organizations, this event will include professional advice from experts, via small break-out
               fund.                                Force?                               fosters a college-attendance culture,                      sessions and one-on-one professional coaching sessions. There is something for everyone, so plan to attend!
                  But working as the College Savings Ac-                                 CJ nurtures a norm of service. Every                                                             2:00–2:30 p.m.
               count Coordinator is not Erin’s only role. In   I would have to say, it would be
               addition to her career, Erin volunteers as a   working with our families. There are   senior has the opportunity to experi-                                   Welcome and Keynote speaker: Maxine Clark
               financial coach for parents of children in a   so many families in St. Louis who want   ence full-time service, even if it’s just            Founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop and CEO/CO-FOUNDER of The Clark/Fox Family Foundation
               Head Start program and serves on the Child                                for a finite amount of time. Without                                                             2:30–4:30 p.m.
               Development Account Task Force with the   to send their kids to college but have                                                          •  Networking  with Participating Organizations (see www.corjesu.org/INC for a complete list)
               Archdiocesan Peace and Justice Commis-  no idea how to navigate the system, let   having served at a charter school in
                                  sion. She also    alone pay for college. It’s humbling to   the city my senior year, I very likely                     •  One-on-one coaching sessions (30 minutes each), providing information on résumé-writing
                                  coaches volleyball                                     would not be working for the Trea-                                techniques, interview skills, networking and more
                                  teams in her spare   see how hard parents are working to                                                               •  Three 20-minute breakout sessions (each will be repeated three times throughout the afternoon):
                                  time.             make ends meet, much less thinking   surer’s Office. Being a student at CJ
                                     In an email                                         meant being part of a community.                                  1.)  What Millennials Bring to the Workplace
                                  interview, Erin   about starting a college fund for their   And service is just one way to become                        2.)  The Power of Social Media and Using LinkedIn Effectively
                                  shared how her    children, even if they weren’t able to                                                                 3.)  Discerning Your Future – How gifts and talents translate to future careers
                                  affinity for service   finish school themselves. Everyone we   part of a new community.
                                  took root and     work with in our office truly wants a   Anything else you would like to add:                   Whether your major is “undecided” or you’re ready to be hired, you won’t want to miss this amazing opportunity
                                  what it means for                                                                                                                       to learn and network in the beautiful new CJ Commons!
                                  her to continue   better life for their children. Because   Let’s get more women in city gov-                           Be sure to put January 4, 2018, on your calendar! We look forward to “connecting” with you!
                                  the work of social   our program serves such young fami-  ernment! Your tax dollars pay govern-
                                  justice.                                                                                                                              For more information, visit www.corjesu.org/INC or contact
                                                    lies, it’s always exciting to watch our   ment employee salaries...wouldn’t                          Patty Ferrara ’85, Director of Alumnae Relations, at pferrara@corjesu.org or 314.842.4429, ext. 266.
                                                    students light up at their kindergarten   you like for it to be a Cor Jesu grad?
        18  COR JESU ACADEMY
   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25