Project Prepare Blue helps young adults ages 18–24 move toward employment, education and other postsecondary goals.
“What do we want to get?”
“Money!” the graduates shouted back.
“When do we want to get it?”
“Now!”
That call-and-response brought plenty of laughter to the auditorium at Crane Medical Preparatory High School on a recent Friday morning. But underneath it was something more serious: 22 young adults taking another step toward building the futures they envision for themselves.
They were dubbed the “Unique 22.” And after a summer spent learning, working and growing through Youth Guidance’s Project Prepare Blue, they had plenty to celebrate.
Before the graduates entered the auditorium, Theonita Wright, senior coordinator of Alumni Engagement at Youth Guidance, described three principles the program seeks to instill: discipline, creativity and recognizing your own value.
Then the doors opened.
As each graduate walked in, Wright greeted them with a different handshake—each one personalized to the young person standing in front of her. It was a small gesture carrying a larger message: I see you. I know you. You matter.
That sense of belonging is central to Youth Guidance’s Alumni Engagement initiative, which continues supporting young people after high school as they navigate the transition into adulthood. Project Prepare Blue is part of that work, helping young adults ages 18–24 move toward employment, education and other postsecondary goals.
“Never ever stop believing in yourself.” — Kendall Smith
Beyond the Résumé
But the support extends beyond preparing a résumé or learning how to navigate the workplace. Participants also had access to free counseling services when they needed additional support to keep moving forward during the program.
The goal is not simply to help young adults get an opportunity. It is to surround them with the resources and relationships that can help them make the most of it.
For Dakota Smith, the impact of that experience unfolded twice this summer.
Her daughter, Kendall Smith, 19, was chosen as the class speaker. Known within the cohort as the “Artist,” Kendall spent her internship at Parent Cooperative for Early Learning. Her mother says the nickname fits: Kendall has drawn and painted since she was a little girl.
Standing at the podium with her mother in the audience, Kendall challenged her fellow graduates to keep moving forward.
“Community is an important ingredient to success,” she told them. “Never ever stop believing in yourself.”
And then: “You are never too old or young to achieve your dreams, so keep dreaming.”
The words seemed almost made for the room. Hanging nearby was a banner declaring Crane a place “where HOPE begins and DREAMS come true.”
Dakota also watched her son, Kendell Smith, experience something entirely new: his first job.
Kendell spent the summer working at Hamilton Park through the Chicago Park District. His mother noticed the difference almost immediately.
“I didn’t have to wake him up. I didn’t have to do anything,” Dakota recalled. “He got himself to work. If he was going to be late, he contacted his supervisors himself. He took the initiative to do those things on his own.”
For Dakota, that is what makes experiences like Project Prepare Blue so valuable.
Young adults need opportunities to learn “what it’s like to be out in the work field,” she said—to develop professional communication, consistency, responsibility and the ability to build relationships with others.
“How else are you going to know until you have the experience?”
More Than A Name
Throughout the ceremony, Wright and post-secondary success coach Cortasha Thomas called graduates to the stage, where Alumni Engagement senior manager Michele Artunduaga snapped their picture. But rather than simply reading their names and internship placements, they told the audience something about who each young person had shown themselves to be: Thoughtful. Creative. Accountable. A leader. A great listener. Success-driven. Motivated.
The ceremony ended with certificates and gift backpacks, but the morning wasn’t quite over.
Upstairs, the graduates presented posters mapping out their next two years, a combination of vision board and career roadmap. Their plans mixed ambition with practicality: Save money. Stay fit. Find a better job. Buy a car. Keep building toward something bigger.
It was a fitting conclusion for a program designed not simply to help young adults find work, but to ensure that Youth Guidance alumni continue to have people in their corner as they take their next steps—whether that means coaching, professional development, connections to opportunity or simply someone to turn to when the path gets difficult.
Before sending the Unique 22 forward, Wright left them with one more reminder, one she had reinforced throughout their time together: “You belong in every room you enter.”
On that Friday morning, a fresh cohort of Project Prepare Blue graduates walked across a stage.
Now comes the bigger journey: walking confidently into all the rooms that come next.