Innovation has always been at the core of CGI’s business. Yesterday, we had the chance to show more than 30 local high school students how studies in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) build the foundation today for the innovations of tomorrow.
“I’ve been obsessed with engineering and science my whole life,” said D.R. Callentine, a CGI engineer who helped coordinate the event. “Here at Chamberlain Group, I work with some of the smartest people making some of the coolest products you can think of. Exposing kids to these kinds of opportunities brings me a lot of joy, but it’s also really important that they know these careers exist right here in their backyards.”
The students represented Willowbrook High School, Wheaton Academy and Al Raby High School. They spent the day with different CGI engineering teams working on projects ranging from plastic injection molding, to Bluetooth antenna tuning, to gear assembly and evaluation.
“Applying the lessons they learn on a daily basis to real-world scenarios is invaluable to our students,” said Ben Sawyer, a teacher at Wheaton Academy. “We can teach them the fundamentals of science and math, but experiences like today help them understand why those fundamentals are important, and that gets them even more excited to learn.”
“The earlier we can get students and young people thinking about the problems our engineers solve every day, the more likely they are to discover those big solutions that will someday change the world,” said Mark Karasek, CGI’s CTO and EVP of Engineering. “We innovate at CGI, so we’re invested in developing those who think big!”
CGI used the day of learning as an opportunity to take their commitment to next-generation innovation one step further by making a $10,000 donation to DuPage Children’s Museum (DCM). Our donation will support The Family Access Membership Program (FAM) that offers a deeply discounted membership to qualifying families and as well as sponsor the Art Is Instrumental, An Interact with Art Gallery Exhibition opening to the public on Saturday, November 11, 2017.
“DCM is dedicated to igniting the potential of all children to learn through hands-on exploration,” said Elaine Drikakis, DCM’s Director of Development. “Chamberlain Group’s STEM day was an extension of DCM’s philosophy, so the partnership made a lot of sense. We’ve very grateful for their donation.”
This was CGI’s fourth donation in 2017 that helped benefit the lives and interests of children. In June, as part of our Wellbeing campaign, we donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, our partnership with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County will support their Special Needs Adventure Day and last week’s ONETeam Moves 5K helped raise funds for Chicago Run, a local organization devoted to eradicating childhood obesity through running programs.
“Good Corporate Citizenship is a CGI Value,” said CGI CEO, JoAnna Sohovich. “Programs like this are not only in alignment with our family and company values, they are also a good investment in our future generation of leaders.”