On February 9th, 2019, The Marillac St. Vincent Associate Board will host the first annual MSV Career Fair. The event will take place at the Foglia Family & Youth Center on the Marillac Social Center campus at 2859 W Jackson Blvd.
With over 20 professionals in attendance, including attorneys, teachers, sales professionals, filmmakers/producers, television news anchors, Chicago police officers, and professional athletes, MSV youth will receive first-hand exposure to a broad spectrum of career opportunities.
Professionals volunteering at MSV Career Day will share their knowledge and expertise with students who attend the fair, as well as their life experiences working through obstacles such as teenage pregnancy, having family members in jail, poverty, and prejudice because of their race, gender, and/or background. Students and professionals will be able to interact during the panels and group discussions throughout the day.
The career fair is the brainchild of MSV Associate Board Outreach Coordinator Brittney Cato, who conceived of the event as a way for the youth of MSV to meet people like themselves who have gone on to have successful professional careers despite facing obstacles in their own lives.
“We would like to introduce the students to young adults who have experienced the same or similar obstacles, struggles, and even insecurities (e.g., race, socioeconomic status, gender, and a-typical household structures), yet have continued to pursue and realize their dreams,” Brittney said.
Cato, who works as an Associate Attorney at Novack and Macey, LLP., a boutique litigation firm in downtown Chicago, is passionate about the MSV youth in part, because she used to be one. When she was 2 years old, Brittney's parents signed her up for early childhood education programs at St. Vincent de Paul Center while her mother finished school and father worked long hours as a new police officer. She attended the center through Birth-to-Three, Pre-K, and the School-Aged After School Programs; 8 years in total.
Associate Board Member Brittney Cato volunteering at MSV's Breakfast with the Bunny.
When asked about her experience on the MSV Associate Board, Cato said, “To now be on the serving-end of an organization that helped raise and take care of me as a child, is extremely gratifying. It’s amazing how things in life come back full circle.”
The Associate Board is a group of professionals who use their connections and knowledge to put on events for MSV. “The Associate Board is very talented at creating and coordinating events and I thought we could take that skill and create an event specifically for the kids,” said Cato. The MSV Family is very grateful to have such a dedicated group of people who believe in our mission, and strive to use their personal time and resources to help us do our work.
For more information on the MSV Career Day, click or tap here to view the event page.