Tools you can use--career development and mentoring programs
Many organizations offer tools and experiences to help students explore and prepare for careers in the licensed professions. Here you will find a selection of career-development programs that offer mentoring, scholarships, experiential learning, materials for teachers, and more!
Each program listed here includes keywords that describe the types of experiences offered. For example, if a program offers guidance on preparing for and selecting a college, it would have the keywords "College Guidance" in its listing.
Tips:
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Program Type & Keywords:
| Career Exploration | Offers resources for exploring careers, including programs to increase access to the professions |
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| College Guidance | Features guidance on preparing for/choosing a college |
| Curriculum | Makes curricula available to educators, or program presents its own curriculum |
| Experiential Components | Program includes hands-on activities or “applied” experiences (e.g., guided projects, internships) |
| Mentoring | Offers mentoring components or opportunities |
| Professional Services | Licensed professionals provide services to students in need |
| Scholarships | Provides or links to college scholarship opportunities |
| STEM | Focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math subjects/experiences |
| Name | P-20 Audience | Summary of Activities | Program Type/Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acupuncture | |||
| Acupuncture Society of New York |
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College and career information and links for professionals. |
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| Applied Behavioral Analysis | |||
| (no career/mentoring information found) | |||
| Architecture | |||
| Ace Mentor Program |
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Via mentors, immerses students in design and construction projects (e.g., contracting, engineering, architecture, and landscaping); student capstone presentation. |
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| AIA NY Center for Architecture Foundation |
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Weekend, vacation, and afterschool programs; residency programs and workshops; professional development for educators. |
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| Worldstudio Foundation |
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Scholarships, fellowships, grants; mentoring. |
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| Athletic Training | |||
| National Athletic Trainers’ Association |
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College and career information. |
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| New York State Athletic Trainers’ Association |
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College and career information. Links to accredited schools in New York. |
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| Audiology | |||
| American Speech-Language-Hearing Association |
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College and career information and links for high school students. |
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| New York State Speech-Language Hearing Association |
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College and career information. Links to college and university programs in New York. |
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| Certified Public Accountancy | |||
| NYS Society of CPAs |
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Activities at college campuses and field visits (COAP); “Excellence in Accounting” scholarship. |
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| Start Here, Go Places |
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Career and college preparation resources for students; professional development and classroom resources for high school educators. AICPA Foundation scholarships. |
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| Certified Shorthand Reporting | |||
| National Court Reporters Association |
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Basic college and career guidance. NCRA’s DiscoverSteno includes resources for careers in court reporting and recruitment resources. |
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| New York State Court Reporters Association |
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Links to scholarship, reporting schools, and a mentoring program |
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| Chiropractic | |||
| American Chiropractic Association |
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Resources for professionals and Student ACA members from accredited chiropractic colleges |
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| Clinical Laboratory Technology | |||
| American Society for Cytotechnology |
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College and career guidance and resources for professionals. |
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| National Society for Histotechnology |
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College and career guidance and resources for professionals. National Laboratory Professionals Week – last full week in April. |
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| Dentistry | |||
| American Dental Association and ADA Foundation |
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Basic college and career guidance. Foundation: “Give Kids a Smile” provides free oral health services to underserved children. |
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| Dietetics and Nutrition | |||
| New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics |
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College and career guidance and resources for RDNs and NDTRs |
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| Engineering | |||
| Virginia Middle School Engineering Initiative |
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Completed—project yielded engineering teaching kits. |
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| Project Lead the Way |
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Applied-learning curricular modules—engineering, computer science, biomedical engineering. |
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| MESA: Engineering Pipeline (Oregon) |
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Hands-on math, science, engineering, and technology projects at school sites; competitions; links to career, college, and scholarship resources. |
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| NYS STEM Education Collaborative |
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Collaboration/advocacy to strengthen and align STEM teaching and NY math, science, and technology learning standards. |
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| Math Counts |
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Competitions, clubs, projects; curriculum (free and by subscription). |
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| Design Squad--PBS |
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TV series with guides, lessons, and activities for students, educators, and parents on STEM topics. |
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| “Discover E” |
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Resources for students, educators, and volunteers: STEM activities, guides, projects, competitions, education, diversity initiatives, and careers. |
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| National Society of Black Engineers |
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3-week “SEEK” summer commuter program for grades 3-5. Pre-college initiative for K-12 students who join “NSBE Jr.” for a nominal fee, including STEM focused programs, competitions, and events. |
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| National Society of Professional Engineers |
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College scholarships (other products for members). |
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| National Academy of Engineering—Engineer Girl |
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Career information (preparation, settings, specialties), history, and “Ask an Engineer” about education and career matters; links to competitions, scholarships, clubs. |
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| Geology | |||
| Earth Science Week |
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Program and education resources for educators and students. |
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| American Geophysical Union AGU Bright STaRS |
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Students engaged in research experiences present results to the scientific community. |
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| Interior Design | |||
| American Society of Interior Designers |
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General information site geared towards professionals. Includes scholarship and grant information. |
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| Parsons Scholars Pre-College Program (NY) |
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Program offers age-appropriate courses in subjects including interior design, drawing, graphic design, and photography. Parsons Scholars Program is available to 10th grade students from NYC public schools |
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| Interior Design Educators Council |
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3 interior design modules (9 lesson plans). |
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| Land Surveying | |||
| New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors |
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Career development and scholarship information. |
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| National Society of Professional Surveyors |
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Links to programs/activities related to surveying - GPS Adventures, GPS on Bench Marks, Boy and Girl Scout Surveying Merit Badge, Trig-Star Competition. |
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| Landscape Architecture | |||
| American Society of Landscape Architects |
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Classroom activities aligned to national teaching standards; green roof program. |
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| Massage Therapy | |||
| American Massage Therapy Association |
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Career and education information. |
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| Medical Physics | |||
| American Association of Physicists in Medicine |
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Includes a student guide to a medical physics career |
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| Medicine | |||
| Northwell Health Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research |
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Includes links to the Summer Research Internship Program (college students) and Summer Visiting Scholar Program (high school and college, aged 16+) |
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| Mentoring in Medicine |
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Programs engage and educate students about biology and healthcare careers. Activities, field trips, mentoring experiences, and health-related community service. |
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| Mental Health Practitioners | |||
| New York Mental Health Counselors Association |
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Mentoring program for students and recent graduates. |
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| American Art Therapy Association |
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Education section provides information about education requirements and licensure in the profession and links to scholarships for AATA members. |
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| American Music Therapy Association |
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Provides students with information about education and licensure in the profession and links to scholarships available to AMTA members. |
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| Midwifery | |||
| American College of Nurse-Midwives |
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General site for families, students, and professionals. |
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| Nursing | |||
| Office of the Professions |
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Basic directory of scholarships, grants, and loans. |
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| Occupational Therapy | |||
| American Occupational Therapy Association |
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The site is primarily aimed at practitioners. It also includes information about accredited programs and career planning. |
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| Ophthalmic Dispensing | |||
| New York State Society of Opticians |
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Mentoring program available to assist students and newly-licensed ophthalmic dispensers. |
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| Optometry | |||
| American Optometric Association and AOA Foundation |
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Association is aimed at optometry students and practitioners. AOA Foundation supports programs such as InfantSee (free assessment for infants); VisionUSA (services for low-income, uninsured people); and funds programs for underserved children. |
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| SUNY College of Optometry |
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Career development and mentoring opportunities for SUNY students, residents, and alumni. |
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| Pathologists' Assistant | |||
| American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants |
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Advocacy organization; membership required to access scholarship information. |
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| Perfusion | |||
| American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion |
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Accreditation, certification, and examination information for students. |
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| Pharmacy | |||
| APhA - American Pharmacists Association |
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Student section (APhA-ASP) includes information about leadership opportunities, projects and outreach, career development, and scholarships. |
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| Physical Therapy | |||
| American Physical Therapy Association |
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Career overview, development, and management for PTs and PTAs |
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| Podiatry | |||
| American Podiatric Medical Association |
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Career overview, educational requirements, and links to colleges of podiatric medicine and residency programs. The Student Resources section has links to grants and scholarships. |
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| Polysomnographic Technology | |||
| American Association of Sleep Technologists |
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Career and college information, education resources, scholarship information. |
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| Psychology | |||
| American Psychological Association (APA) and APA-YMCA partnership |
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Professional development, curricula, activities, guides, videos for P-12 teachers (may require membership). “Help Center” for general audiences. APA public education campaign—tools and strategies to foster healthy lifestyles, behaviors, and choices. |
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| Respiratory Therapy | |||
| American Association for Respiratory Care |
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Basic career and college information; links to some scholarship programs. |
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| Social Work | |||
| National Association of Social Work |
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Career planning information, links to fellowships, scholarships and research awards. |
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| Speech-Language Pathology | |||
| American Speech-Language-Hearing Association |
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College and career information and links for high school students. |
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| Veterinary Medicine | |||
| Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine |
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Activities, guides, curricula and teaching resources, after school programs, Vet Camp. Programs supported by NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) – "This is How We “Role” for kids in grade K-4 |
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| American Veterinary Medicine Association |
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Career PowerPoint presentations for grades K-college and other activities and lesson plans for K-12 educators. Professional development section contains information about veterinary colleges and accreditation. |
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| Cornell Cooperative Extension – Suffolk County |
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Veterinary Medicine Career Exploration Program- Shadowing experience and 5-week lecture series. $100 fee to attend. Program graduates eligible for Vet School Scholarship. |
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| Cornell Cooperative Extension – Rockland County |
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Veterinary Science Career Exploration – 4-H youth development program. 8 sessions including a “day in the life of veterinary practice.” |
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| Multi-Profession and Miscellaneous Programs | |||
| BOCES New Visions |
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Offers highly-motivated seniors a non-traditional, and academically challenging, senior year. Integrates required high school credits with targeted studies in a wide range of fields. Available through multiple BOCES programs. Link is to QuestarIII BOCES |
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| College Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP)—NYSED |
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Assists underserved College Students in STEM-related majors: academic enrichment, test prep, mentoring, tutoring, advisement and grad school counseling, research guidance, conferences. |
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| Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) |
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HESC is New York State's higher education financial aid agency. Users can explore the grants and scholarships available to residents attending in-state colleges and universities. Includes link to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). |
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| Liberty Partnerships—NYSED |
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Program for students at-risk of dropping out of school: college and career skills, support and enrichment activities. Community, family, and college partners. |
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New York State Early College High School Programs—NYSED
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High school and college partners collaborate to help students graduate high school with 24-60 transferable credits and/or an associate degree. “Transfer” extends “Scholars” by supporting completion of a bachelor’s degree. |
These general programs seek to close high school and college achievement gaps; they do not have a professions-specific focus. |
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Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH)—NYSED |
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Early-college program prepares students for STEM careers in targeted “high-tech” jobs; requires partnership of eligible school districts, colleges, and employers. Students graduate with an associate degree. |
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| Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP)—NYSED |
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For underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students pursuing professional licensure or math, science, tech, or health careers. Research training, internships, education/career counseling, test prep. |
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| Big Brothers Big Sister NYC |
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Includes mentoring in traditional programs as well as programs for juvenile justice, immigrants, youth with incarcerated parents or in foster care, and work place mentoring. |
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| Boys and Girls Clubs of America |
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Career, high school completion, college readiness, STEM, and summer enrichment programs. |
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| Business Mentor NY |
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Free site connecting entrepreneurs and experienced business professionals to build small businesses together |
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| Capital District YMCA Black and Latino Achievers Program |
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College and vocational readiness; career exploration. |
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| Children of Promise, NYC |
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Brooklyn-based program offering mentoring and family and mental health services to children of incarcerated parents. Includes career planning and exploration. |
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| Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
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Educator resources and lesson plans. Focused programs for families, teens, and K-12 school groups. |
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| EntreSkills |
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Provides an introduction to entrepreneurship and the skills needed to start and operate a business. Educators can create customized assignments, track students’ grades, and view students’ progress. |
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| Ford Next Generation Learning |
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Supports collaborations of educators, employers, and community leaders to transform secondary schools via career and interest-themed academies. Infuses college preparation with Career Technical Education (CTE). |
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Health career profiles and preparation information; focus on workforce underrepresentation and shortages of professionals in underserved communities. |
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Geriatric Career Development program (at The New Jewish Home) |
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Immerses 10th-12th grade students from underperforming and under-resourced schools in work experiences in a long-term-care setting. Graduates qualify for various allied healthcare certifications. GCD also offers 3-month programs for young adults (18-24 years old) |
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| Horatio Alger Association |
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The Horatio Alger Association provides need-based college scholarships for career and technical education, bachelor's degree programs, and major- and college-specific programs. Additional services and opportunities are available to Horatio Alger Scholars |
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| KnowHow2Go |
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Guidance on college and college preparation, including materials for mentors. |
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| Junior Achievement |
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Sequentially themed, hands-on activities designed to foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Job shadowing and after school programs. |
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| MENTOR |
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The national mentoring partnership. MENTOR maintains a national database of youth mentoring programs. |
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| Mentor New York (a MENTOR affiliate) |
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Affiliate of MENTOR: The national mentoring network. They also help with designing and managing mentoring programs. |
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| MyPlan.com |
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Commercial site—broad career and college guidance. |
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NAF (formerly known as National Academy Foundation) |
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Partners with high schools in high-need communities on STEM-focused academies*—small learning communities within the given school. *Finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, health sciences |
Includes 61 NYS academies. |
| National Education Equity Lab |
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This non-profit coordinates with selective colleges and universities to offer college credit-bearing courses to high-achieving and underprivileged high schoolers primarily from Title1/Title 1 eligible schools. Interested high school administrators apply through the interest form |
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| New York State 4-H |
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3-day Career Explorations Conference on the Cornell Campus. Two age-based career exploration programs are offered. |
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| The New York State Mentoring Program |
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State-wide, one-to-one, school-based mentoring program with a mission to prevent students from dropping out of school. |
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| The Opportunity Network |
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Works with students from underrepresented communities from NYC’s five boroughs. Career development, “education-to-career connections,” work place learning, internships, enrichment programs. |
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| PBS Career Connections |
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Collection of career videos introducing students to in-demand jobs. Some videos also provide supporting material including national and state standards, discussion questions and video viewing guides |
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| Pencil |
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Partnerships between business volunteers and NYC public schools; summer workshops; one-day events. Seeks common ground among school and business needs, capacity, and interests. |
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| Say Yes to Education - Buffalo and Syracuse |
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Partners school districts, parents, the larger community, and businesses to increase high school and post-secondary graduation rates. Businesses are encouraged to offer internships. |
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Comments and suggestions on Careers in the Licensed Professions: paths2profs@nysed.gov