b'FUTURES Fall 2020f e a t u r e sFUTURE Learning andyour Working Remotely toOn August 13th, we celebrated the work of our scholars in a virtual closing ceremony. Our studentsSAVE THE DATE delivered short presentations forDrexel Futures ,Career Research & Exploration , andSTEM Futures , and four students shared excerpts of their personal statements that they drafted during the College2021 VirtualAdmissions Marathon. Watch the full celebration by visiting: bit.ly/PFSummerClosing.Annual Conference High School Summer Programs:Drexel Futures: This History and Human Behavior course, led by Philadelphia Futures alum QuadreseJanuary 2021 Glass and Eric Sheetz, offered rising high school sophomores the opportunity to focus on variousStay Tuned for Details themes, including immigration, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ Rights and the LGBTQ Community, and do research on these topics.Career Research & Exploration:This course, led by Jessica ThomasTHE DIRECTORS CORNERand Philadelphia Futures Directorof Career Initiatives Kelsie LeVan,offered rising high school juniorsthe opportunity to learn about a variety of career options andmake informed choices about theirfuture through targeted career andprofessional development activities. STEM Futures: This course, led byDEAR FRIENDS,Dr. Ben Dube and Dr. Ted Howell,I hope this newsletter finds you guided rising high school seniors and your loved ones safe and healthy.to a better understanding of why For so many reasons, this fallit is so critical to keep our wateris different. Our students are in healthy to maintain ecosystems schoolat home, in person, or a and exposed them to lab-basedhybrid of those options. They carve STEM curriculum. out places to study wherever they College Admissions Marathon:can, sometimes just with a setDuring this three-week program,of headphones. They utilize their students participated in virtualresources to ensure they stay on writing workshops and draftedtheir academic journey, even though their personal statements for theirthe twists and turns are increasing. college admissions applications.Many must support their families,balancing jobs with schoolwork, but SMASH: This 3-year STEM collegeespecially now because their job is prep program empowers students to deepen their talents and pursue STEM careers. The Philadelphiathe only source of family income. Futures scholars spent three weeks of the summer working on a project that would find a solution to acontinued on page 7 COVID-19 related issue. continued on page 2inthisissue Graduation, p. 2 Spotlight: Committed to Becoming an Anti-racist Organization, p. 4-5 Weve Moved!, p. 6'