We conducted our fifth Instagram Live interview with Jeff Beckham. Jeff is the Vice President of Partnerships at Chicago Scholars. He attended Marian Catholic high school, then proceeded to Mizzou University for his undergrad and DePaul University for grad school. We were thrilled to have him join us and here’s a recap of what he had to share:
Tell us about Chicago Scholars?
Chicago Scholars was founded in 1997 and during the first few years it was focused on college access. Helping students who were first-generation or students from low-income families. Their goal was to help students in the process of applying, getting counseling, filling the FAFSA, visiting schools, and more. They started off serving 50 students a year and now helping close to 700 students. As Chicago Scholars grew they realized that students needed more help than just applying to college they needed support through their education journey. Today, Chicago Scholars is a seven-year program that starts at the end of their junior year of high school through college and into the first year of their career.
What do you do at Chicago Scholars?
Jeff heads the Career leadership development component which includes working with the students on internship planning, landing a job, keeping a job, and skill development. In addition, Jeff also runs the mentorship program, which consists of 250 mentors who mentor students during their senior year of high school and freshman year of college.
What’s the process to get into Chicago Scholars?
Each year the application process opens up around November/December for high school juniors. Chicago Scholars receives about 1,500 applications and interviews close to 1,200 students; only about 600-700 slots are open. Once admitted you attend the orientation and begin the college application process. To apply you must live in Chicago, attend a high school in Chicago, and be a high academic performer with demonstrative leadership.
Can you tell us about the role art plays in your life and how you yourself started creating art?
For Jeff, art and his love for art was always there. Especially when he owned a web design and graphic design company. He’d play videogames and wanted to know he could recreate those same graphics. He created art in all four years of high school but stopped in college because he felt he wasn’t good enough. Last year, a close friend of his passed away and they had a conversation before he passed about relieving stress. His friend had encouraged him to get back into art. He then decided to try and get back to painting again, and so he did. He reached out to friends to help teach him the basics and then resorted to YouTube and he has practiced his skill constantly.
Can you tell us about 100 Black Men?
The 100 Black Men is a mentoring organization that focuses on four pillars, education, mentoring, financial literacy, and health and wellness. At the moment they are doing virtual mentoring due to COVID-19. You can visit their website to learn more here!
We thank Jeff for taking the time out of his day to share some words with our followers. If you’d like to check out some of his artwork visit his Instagram @Jeffbeckam. If you’d like more information regarding Chicago Scholars, visit their website here. Make sure to tune in next Wednesday for our next interview!