Year Up
Encyclopedia
Year Up is a nonprofit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. Year Up was founded in 2000 by Harvard Business School
graduate Gerald Chertavian
, and currently has sites in Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, New York, Providence, Puget Sound (Seattle), and Washington, D.C..
Year Up's high-expectation, high-support program combines marketable job skills, stipends, paid internships, and up to 23 earned college credits. It addresses students' social and emotional development and provides the appropriate support to place these young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency.
During the first six months of the program, students attend classes at Year Up, learning technical and professional skills that prepare them for success in a corporate environment. During the second six months, Year Up students gain experience in internships at leading companies around the country.
After graduation, Year Up students continue to receive support and build their professional networks through Year Up's Alumni Association.
Year Up currently serves more than 1,300 students per year nationwide.
Partial list of Financial Operations skills classes;
Paritial list of professional and business skills classes:
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
graduate Gerald Chertavian
Gerald Chertavian
Gerald Chertavian is an American social entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Year Up, an intensive one-year education and training program that serves low-income young adults ages 18–24.- Background and Family :...
, and currently has sites in Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, New York, Providence, Puget Sound (Seattle), and Washington, D.C..
Mission
Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education.How it works
Year Up's intensive one-year program provides high school graduates and GED recipients between the ages of 18-24 with a combination of hands-on skill development and corporate internship opportunities.Year Up's high-expectation, high-support program combines marketable job skills, stipends, paid internships, and up to 23 earned college credits. It addresses students' social and emotional development and provides the appropriate support to place these young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency.
During the first six months of the program, students attend classes at Year Up, learning technical and professional skills that prepare them for success in a corporate environment. During the second six months, Year Up students gain experience in internships at leading companies around the country.
After graduation, Year Up students continue to receive support and build their professional networks through Year Up's Alumni Association.
Year Up currently serves more than 1,300 students per year nationwide.
Classes taught and skills learned
Partial list of technical skills classes:- Network support
- Dreamweaver
- Operating systems
- HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
- Hardware repair
- TCP/IP
- ASPActive Server PagesActive Server Pages , also known as Classic ASP or ASP Classic, was Microsoft's first server-side script engine for dynamically-generated Web pages. Initially released as an add-on to Internet Information Services via the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack Active Server Pages (ASP), also known as Classic...
- Photoshop
- JavascriptJavaScriptJavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
Partial list of Financial Operations skills classes;
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Capital Formation
- Ratio Analysis
- Financial Markets and Capital Markets
- Regulation
- Trade Settlement and Clearing
- N.A.V. and Mutual Funds
Paritial list of professional and business skills classes:
- Writing skills
- Working in teams
- Time management
- Workplace norms
- Professional networking
- Introduction to business
- Communicating clearly and effectively
- Personal finance
- Conflict resolution
Support systems
Year Up surrounds its students with resources to support them during and after the program, assisting them in their transitions to careers and higher education.- Advisors: Staff members act as student advisors, meeting with students weekly to advise them on professional and personal issues.
- Mentors: Each student is assigned a mentor from the business community to further support his or her development.
- Tutors: Each student has access to one-on-one tutoring, if needed.
Achieving results
The impact that Year Up has made on the students and communities it serves has been measured:- 100% internship placement
- 95% corporate partner satisfaction
- 84% of graduates employed or in college full-time within 4 months after graduation
- $30,000/year average starting salary
Recognition
Year Up has been the recipient of awards:- Philanthropedia Top 17 National Nonprofits (September 2010)
- Corporate Voices for Working Families Nonprofit Partner of the Year Award (2009)
- International Ashoka Fellowship (2008)
- Fast CompanyFast Company (magazine)Fast Company is a full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and reports on topics including innovation, digital media, technology, change management, leadership, design, and social responsibility...
and Monitor GroupMonitor GroupMonitor Group is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States and with 27 offices in 26 major cities around the world. It provides strategy consultation services to the senior management of organizations and governments...
's "Social Capitalist" Award (January 2005, January 2007) - The Freedom House Archie R. Williams, Jr. Technology Award (May 2005)
- The Commonwealth Corporation's Excellence in Partnership Awards: Dr. Stanley Z. Koplik Commitment to Learning Award (June 2004)
- The Manhattan InstituteManhattan InstituteThe Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
Social Entrepeneurship Award (Fall 2003) - In 2008, Year Up was selected as the target non-profit of Doing IT for Good, a corporate philanthropyPhilanthropyPhilanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
program created by venture capitalVenture capitalVenture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
firm Landmark Ventures, that holds annual networking events.
Further information
- "Philanthropedia press release, September 2010"
- "Ashoka Fellowship"
- Year Up Online
- Fast Company Social Capitalist Award press release
- "Year Up helps students gear up for careers" The Providence JournalThe Providence JournalThe Providence Journal, nicknamed the ProJo, is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper, first published in 1829 and the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the United States, was purchased...
, April 2005 - "Schoolyard CEO" Fortune Small BusinessFortune Small BusinessFortune Small Business ' was a magazine published ten times each year. The publication was a joint venture by The Fortune Group at Time Inc. and American Express Small Business Services...
, March 2005 - "Offering a way back to hopes of college" Christian Science Monitor, December, 2004
- "Workforce insights" Veritude.com June, 2004
- "Climbing up to careers" The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, May, 2004 - "Movin' on up" Commonwealth Magazine Winter, 2003