INROADS’ Diverse Talent Solution Sweeps The Nation — Connecting Underserved Youth To Virtual STEM Training

INROADS believes in providing emerging leaders with early access to STEM, entrepreneurship and career readiness training for diverse high school students. INROADS’ commitment to extending the diverse talent pipeline has resulted in INROADS College Links, a program that gives students professional development, and mentors.

Initial funders like Executive Leadership Council, Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble have now led to expanded College Links to nine markets across the U.S. They include Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Washington DC, Newark, Oakland, Orlando, Minneapolis and Dallas.

“Our expansion of this program is critical to closing the gap for STEM-talented underrepresented youth, and exposing them to STEM careers and coding programs in a virtual/remote learning environment. We have a goal of expanding to 25 markets by the end of 2024, through corporations and donors helping us get closer to achieving this goal,” says Forest T. Harper Jr., President and CEO, INROADS.

When corporations decide to invest in INROADS College Links they join INROADS’ Community of Action. INROADS’ Community of Action is an ecosystem of committed public and private partners who make impact investments in the futures of young emerging diverse talent in their communities, and the socio-economic mobility of Black and minority families.

INROADS has amassed an impressive Community of Action. Their network of partners this year for INROADS College Links’ expansion includes UnitedHealth Group, L3Harris Technologies, Zoetis, AT&T, JPMorgan Chase, Sanofi and many others. To provide context for the potential impact each partner makes, the L3Harris Technologies’ commitment to expand Orlando and Dallas INROADS College Links’ programs are expected to impact 40,000 households in the next three years.

“INROADS College Links is a program model of our commitment to making a difference in the lives of underserved youth and their communities, and for connecting corporate America to untapped diverse talent as an irreversible and sustainable solution for corporate inequities,” says Harper.

“INROADS is excited to provide our students with access to INROADS College Links as our world endures a global pandemic. Thanks to the support of STEMBoard’s LINGO — an at-home coding kit — our students can develop as leaders in a remote learning environment,” says Andrea Johnson-Lee, National Director of College Links and Midwest Regional Director of Programs, INROADS.

About INROADS
INROADS was founded more than 50 years ago. Inspired by the famed I Have a Dream speech, Frank Carr founded INROADS to remove career barriers to corporate opportunities for people of color. Today, INROADS is credited with establishing the Black middle class. With more than 30,000 alumni, INROADS is the largest nonprofit organization committed to leadership and career development for underserved and underrepresented talent in the world. INROADS has placed students in more than 154,000 paid internships throughout its history, and graduated more than 40,000 alumni into full-time professional and leadership positions with more than 1,000 corporate partners. Currently, INROADS serves 800-1,300 interns and 200 corporate clients. Learn more at INROADS.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn: @INROADSInc.