Local Talent, Local Jobs: Tech Pathways for Youth Across Chicago's Big 7 (Powered by STAYLIT™)

Your neighborhood is changing. And you should be leading it.

Right now, tech companies are expanding across Chicago's South Side. They need people who understand data, digital tools, customer service tech, content creation, and basic IT support. Not in five years. Not after you leave the community. Right now.

At True Believers Community Connections (TBCC), we're making sure Chicago’s South Side youth are first in line for those opportunities: not through shortcuts, but through real preparation that sticks. Under Dr. Carol’s leadership as Founder & Chief Systems Architect, TBCC is building the Impact Infrastructure for the South Side—and STAYLIT™ (Stay Living In Truth) is one of our strongest systems inside it. It’s built on three actions—Educate • Equip • Empower—and we don’t whisper it. We build with it. And it works. We have an 85% program completion rate because we meet young people where they are and give them what they actually need to succeed.

This is about more than jobs. Hope is an infrastructure. It’s about building career pathway infrastructure that stays open, grows with you, and keeps opportunity circulating in Ashburn, Auburn Gresham, Chatham, Englewood, West Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing, and Washington Heights.

The Tech Jobs Are Here. Are You Ready?

You don't need to move downtown to access tech careers. Companies need digital support staff, customer service reps who can navigate CRM systems, content creators who understand local audiences, and entry-level data analysts who can turn numbers into action.

Here's what that looks like in real terms:

• Digital admin roles: Managing schedules, databases, and online communications for local businesses and nonprofits

• Customer service tech: Handling support tickets, troubleshooting software, and walking clients through digital tools

• Content creation: Running social media, producing podcasts, editing video, and telling local stories through digital platforms

• IT support: Basic troubleshooting, software installation, network setup for small businesses and community organizations

• Data basics: Organizing information, creating reports, spotting trends that help organizations make better decisions

These aren't fantasy jobs. They're real positions opening up across the South Side right now. And they pay. But you need the right skills and the right support to get in the door.

What STAYLIT™ Actually Does

TBCC's STAYLIT™ framework isn't a slogan. It's a system. We use five service pillars to prepare youth for real work:

Mentoring: One-on-one guidance from people who've navigated similar challenges and made it to stable careers. You get someone in your corner who knows the landscape.

Professional Development: Soft skills that matter: how to communicate clearly, show up on time, handle feedback, work on a team, and represent yourself in professional settings.

Leadership Development: Building confidence, decision-making skills, and the ability to take initiative. This is what separates someone who completes a program from someone who drives their own career forward.

Workforce Development: Direct training in job-ready skills: from basic software (Google Workspace, Microsoft Office) to digital tools specific to your field. Plus résumé building, interview prep, and job placement support.

Business Development: For youth who want to create their own path, we teach entrepreneurial basics: how to identify opportunities, manage money, market your services, and turn skills into income.

We don't just teach you about tech. We put you in front of actual tools, real projects, and live work scenarios. Then we connect you to employers who are actively hiring.

STAYLIT in Motion: Educate • Equip • Empower

Why the Big 7 Matters

Ashburn, Auburn Gresham, Chatham, Englewood, West Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing, and Washington Heights aren't just neighborhoods. They're communities with deep roots, strong families, and young people who are ready to work.

But opportunity doesn't always flow where it should. That's why TBCC focuses specifically on these seven areas. We know the schools, the families, the challenges, and the strengths. We build youth infrastructure that fits the real lives of Chicago’s South Side youth: not some generic model that assumes everyone has the same starting point.

When a young person from Greater Grand Crossing completes our career pathway infrastructure and lands a tech job, they don't just help themselves. They shift what's possible for their siblings, their friends, their block. That's infrastructure. That's legacy.

Real Skills, Real Results

Here's what youth actually learn through TBCC’s career pathway infrastructure:

• Digital literacy: Navigating software, managing files, using cloud tools, understanding online security

• Communication tech: Writing professional emails, managing virtual meetings, creating clear documentation

• Basic coding concepts: HTML/CSS basics, understanding how websites work, intro to data structures

• Content tools: Canva, video editing software, podcast production, social media management platforms

• Project management: Trello, Asana, Google Tasks: how to organize work and meet deadlines

• Data entry and analysis: Excel/Google Sheets, basic data visualization, report creation

And it's not just technical skills. We focus on the things that actually get you hired and keep you employed: showing up consistently, communicating clearly, solving problems without waiting to be told, and working well with others.

Our 85% program completion rate reflects something important: when youth see the direct connection between what they're learning and where it leads, they stay. They finish. They succeed.

What Families Need to Know

If you're a parent or guardian, here's what you should ask before enrolling your child in any program:

• Is there a clear path to employment? (Not just skills training, but actual job connections)

• What's the completion rate? (If most youth drop out, something's broken)

• Who's teaching? (Are they people with real experience, or just checking boxes?)

• What happens after the program ends? (Do youth get follow-up support, or are they on their own?)

At TBCC, the answers are straightforward. We partner with South Side employers who are actively hiring. Our completion rate speaks for itself. Our mentors are professionals who've built real careers. And we don't disappear after graduation: we stay connected and provide ongoing support as youth navigate their first jobs.

This Is What Legacy Looks Like

As TBCC marks its 13th anniversary under the theme "Legacy & Leadership," we're thinking long-term. Legacy isn't just about what we've done. It's about what becomes possible because we showed up.

When a young person from Auburn Gresham gets their first tech job, saves money, and then mentors someone else: that's legacy. When a family in Chatham sees their child build a career they never imagined was accessible: that's leadership. When neighborhoods across the Big 7 start seeing more youth employed, more households stable, more voices heard: that's infrastructure.

Dr. Carol puts it this way: "Hope is an infrastructure." It's not wishful thinking. It's something you build, maintain, and expand. And it changes everything.

Take the Next Step

If you're a young person ready to explore tech pathways, or if you're a parent looking for real support for your child, connect with us.

Visit truebelieverscc.org to learn more about our infrastructure, see upcoming events, and get in touch. You can also call us at (773) 966-5651 or email info@truebelieverscc.org.

We're here. We're local. And we're building pathways that last.

---

Dr. Carol Y. Collum Founder & Chief Systems Architect Midwest-Regional Standard Bearer