DELTA ACADEMY PROGRAM
D'Estee Inc.

Delta Academy provides an educational program for at-risk African American girls 11 to 14 years old. The program promotes the principles of sisterhood, scholarship and service. Every third Saturday, members of the Sorority help sharpen the participant's skills in math, science and technology; provide service learning for students who learn through active participation and teach them how to cultivate and maintain interpersonal relationships with female adults.

The Delta Academy program focuses on:

• Developing interests in math, science, and computer technology
• Providing exposure to public service involvement
• Encouraging educational and cultural enrichment
• Helping to achieve academic excellence
• Heightening social graces
• Stressing the importance of proper health
• Emphasizing the dangers of drug usage
• Developing leadership skills; and
• Promote sisterhood as it relates to relationship with peers and Delta members

Sixteen young girls attend Delta Academy on the 1st , 2nd and 3 rd Saturday of each month, beginning September until June of every year from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at D'Estee, Inc. The third Saturday will be utilized for field trips and other learning experiences. Scheduled activities for the year includes: Winter Wonderland, Career Expos, Etiquette & Manners, Health Spa & Self Esteem; POW-WOW, Kwaanza and Black History through the eyes of young ladies.

DELTA ACADEMY CAREER PROFILES

One of the national focuses for Delta Academy is to introduce young ladies to non-traditional careers for women. During the month of March, Delta Academy members learned about non-traditional occupations for women. The young ladies created a collage of images that are representative of acceptable clothing, hair styles, nails, shoes, purses, and jewelry that a young lady or female adult should wear on an interview. They also participated in mock job interviews designed to help them improve on their 1 on 1 speaking skills and image.

To culminate Career Month, the program held a career expos where 11 women working in non-traditional careers and careers in high demand, were interviewed by each academy member. Below are the Career Profiles of the participants.

Career Profiles from Delta Academy

Deborah Jones-Bugg, FBI-Special Agent

Brief Job description : Responsible for investigation of various violations such as Federal Criminal Law including white collar crimes, mortgage fraud, bank robberies, domestic/international terrorism.

College: Indiana University & Ball State University

Vanessa Horton-Emmanuel, Securities Examiner, Securities Exchange Commission

Brief job description: Examine large public companies, mutual fund companies and national investment firms for compliance with the United States Securities Laws.

College: University of Illinois and DePaul University

Degrees: Bachelors in Marketing, Masters in Strategic Management

Cheryl Franklin, Registered Nurse, Rush University Medical Center

Brief job description: Assess patients after surgery, assure that patients are following surgery precautions, interact with multi-disciplinary teams (doctors, therapists, discharge planners) to communicate patient's status.

College: Aurora University

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Candace Hall, Kitting Supervisor, Moore Wallace, Inc.

Brief job description: Supervise the fulfillment and distribution of mass quantities of specified orders. Supervise the picking, packing, and shipping of various products.

College: Northern Illinois University

Degrees : Bachelor of Science-Operations Management and Information Systems

Christina King, Executive Director, National Progressive Institute for Community Development

Brief job description: Project development, contract negotiation, property management, accounting, purchasing, asset management, facility management, grant writing, fundraising, and human resources.

College: University of Illinois at Chicago

Degree: Bachelor of Science, Finance

Tamara C. King, Ed.D, Educational Consultant, Pearson Scott Foresman

Brief job description: Responsible for demonstrating expert content knowledge of academic disciplines and presentation skills inorder to design product presentations that successfully influence customers. Presents at national, state and local conferences. Conducts, follow-up in service on company products for customers. Conducts model lessons as a function of a pre-sale or in-service activity. Communicates service activities, market trends and customer needs to sales, marketing and editorial management.

College: Chicago State University , University of Illinois at Chicago , University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Loyola University-Chicago

Degrees: B.S. Elementary Education, M.Ed. Leadership & Administration, Ed.D., Curriculum & Instruction

Vershawn Sanders, Professional Dancer, Choreographer, Instructor-Columbia College-Chicago

Brief job description: Instructor and Arts Administrator at the Dance Center of Columbia College and Fieldcrest School . A professional dancer, choreographer and instructor in the Chicago area. Currently teach tap, hip-hop, jazz, ballet, and modern dance. Performs independently with various choreographers both nationally and internationally and the Director for the Youth Dance Company for Modine and Company Dance Theater.

College: Columbia College-Chicago

Degrees: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance

Audrey Simon, Senior Account Executive, Zurich American Insurance Co.

Brief Job Description: Insurance underwriter for large casualty accounts. Write insurance policies for large businesses including worker compensation, general liability, and commercial automobiles.

College : Alabama A& M University

Degrees: Bachelor of Science Business Administration

LaVerne M. Weatherly, Senior Medical Specialist, B/Braun Medical

Brief Job Description: A salesperson for B/Braun Medical where I detail, in-service and present my products to Hospital Administrators, Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, and Materials Management. I have worked for this company for 27 years where I have received awards for Outstanding Sales, Over Achievement Sales and Sales Person of the Year. I have also won numerous trips to Hawaii , Germany , Paris , Tahiti and other places in the United States .

College : North Carolina Central University , Durham , N.C.

Degrees: B.S. in Biology and Chemistry

The April newsletter will feature the interviews.

Did you know that?

1. A nontraditional occupation for women is one in which women comprise 25 percent or less of total employment.
2. Nontraditional occupations span all major occupational groups and provide many employment options for women.
3. First, growth in the economy is projected to expand employment in many of these occupations and secondly, there will be strong demand for workers in these fields due to projected retirements or transfers of current workers to other occupations.
4. Nontraditional jobs are attractive to women because they generally offer higher entry-level wages and a career ladder with pay between $20 and $30 per hour.
5. Here are some examples of nontraditional jobs for women: detectives, architects, chefs, barbers, clergy, computer and office machine repairers, construction and building inspectors, railroad conductors, machinists, truck drivers, fire fighters, aircraft pilots, construction occupations, and small engine mechanics.
6. Women continue to make inroads into nontraditional occupations. As more women enter jobs that were once dominated by men, many jobs that were nontraditional for women in the 1980's were no longer nontraditional for women in 2002. Some of these occupations are insurance sales, purchasing managers, photographers, physicians, chemists, postal service mail carriers, lawyers, athletes, and protective service administrators.

Souce: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What do I need to know to get into a Non-Traditional Career?

Success in the industries of Engineering, Manufacturing, and Construction depends on an attitude of willingness to practice life-long learning and taking the responsibility to find answers. Mathematical and communication skills along with the ability to work with people are essential. Many employers will direct a technical graduate such as yourself to plan and prepare an entire project, costing thousands of dollars, so knowlege of materials, machines, the industry,and good team work are crucial for a good career in these fields.

Personal Characteristics:

Workers in these non-traditional fields must have the ability to take responsibility, assume leadership when needed, and work under the stress of deadlines. As a technical worker, it is your job to make sure that you work well to make a profit for the company or industry which is employing you, and to communicate well both orally and in written documents. You must work well both solo and as a team member, and make necessary analytical and logical decisions.

High School Preparation:

A high school degree is important, with course work consisting of: algebra, geometry, trigonometry, English, speech, reading, writing, chemistry, physics, any electric and electronic related coursework and a good use of computer applications. Woodshop and metal shop will be important for those of you thinking of entering a construction field, whereas science and math will be more applicable to students interested in becoming engineers.Talk to your guidance counselor at school, and work out a program of classes to take which will help you make the transition from high school to college- they're there to help!

What Physical Capabilities do I need to have?

The physical activity required depends on the type of job. Obviously, you will need to have good health to be working on a construction site, and strength may be needed for hauling and delivering items to the jobsite. Technicians working with systems on building sites may be carrying test equipment and working on ladders or on a crane. Sales people can expect to travel and see customers at their place of business. Many designers work in offices; and are creating parts for a project side by side with a robot or computer-aided drafting device, with minimal "outside" time. It all depends on the job; reasonable good health and strength, plus a good attitude, are your best assets!

Find out more about women in non-traditional careers on the following Web sites:

Provides tools, strategies and a virtual community to help increase women and girl's integration and retention in high-wage jobs that are considered non-traditional for women. Visit: www.work4women.org

Engineer Girl
A program sponsored by the National Academy of Engineering that educates girls about careers in engineering. Visit: www.engineergirl.org

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC)
Conferences, networking, career development in the construction industry.

Visit: www.nawic.org

Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & Science (IWITTS)
Promotes women in the trades, technology and science careers.
Visit: www.iwitts.com

TAKE A FREE CAREER TEST. Find out what career is best for you. Students in elementary school should begin to identify careers that they would excel in based upon various assessments.

www.college911.com

www.web.tickle.com

What should your occupation be?

Is this what you expected?

Email Delta Academy at www.chicagodeltaacademy@yahoo.com and let us know your results from the Career Test.

Do you have a resume? Yes, even elementary school children can create a resume. Create a kids resume at www.careerkids.com

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Weekly activities include: Math Drills via Holey Cards, Journaling, Book Club Review, Delta See Project Science ( www.deltasee.org/index.htm ) Activities, Group Dynamics and Computers exercises. The types of lessons differ from week to week.