Citadel Pledges Resources to Help Low-Income Students Get Jobs
Citadel Pledges Resources to Help Low-Income Students Get Jobs
(Bloomberg) -- The hedge fund and the market maker controlled by Ken Griffin are providing high-achieving students from lower-income communities resources they need to succeed in school and land a job.
Citadel and Citadel Securities joined with non-profit Thrive Scholars to create career opportunities for students of color interested in science, technology, math and finance, according to a statement Wednesday. Citadel will provide internships, mentors and funding for Thrive’s six-year academic and professional development program for students.
“Students in low-income communities often don’t have the networks to get the interviews, internships, and exposure that leads to jobs, compared to their more-privileged counterparts,” Thrive Chief Executive Officer Steve Stein said in an interview. “We want to make sure they get the experience and knowledge they need to succeed.”
Citadel has focused its effort on developing young talent and attracting candidates from top-tier colleges, while pushing to increase diversity. Stein said more than half of the Thrive students express interest in STEM careers at the start of the program.
“Our overall goal is to help scholars build financial security” and “upward economic mobility,” Stein said. “If you think of who our students are and the types of jobs we want to have available to them, it’s Citadel.”
Thrive targets the points of development that prevent high-achieving, low-income students from getting into top colleges and launching careers, including pre-college preparation, college advising and career coaching.
The organization “empowers exceptionally talented students -- regardless of background -- to best pursue high-impact careers,” Griffin said in the statement.
In an interview on Monday, Griffin tied economic inequality in the U.S. to problems with education. “We have narrowed the window of opportunity in our country by our broken K-through-12 education system,” he said.
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