Project Snapshot offers virtual experiential learning for high school and college students

When his internship at Under Armor was canceled due to COVID-19 issues, Andrew Chen, head of supply chain management, did not expect to discover an opportunity to help students around the world in place.

Chen said he initially struggled to find internships that weren’t impacted by the pandemic, which caused him to change his approach.

“My state of mind has changed a bit,” Chen said. “Instead of ‘Why am I trying to get an internship and get projects?’ to, “How can I create something … to impact other similar students in my positions?” “”

Next, Chen stumbled across a “viral” LinkedIn post by Sébastien Chiu, one of the founders of Project Snapshot, a virtual experiential learning scholarship program.

According to a press release, Project Snapshot is a new experiential learning scholarship that gives Gen-Zs the opportunity to shape the post-COVID-19 world from their perspective.

The distance learning program virtually connects high school students with mentors through their pre-defined areas of interest, providing a framework for students to develop their skills.

Chiu started conceptualizing the program in March after her own internship was canceled and posted the project on LinkedIn in the first week of April.

Two months later, Project Snapshot had received a total of 213 entries for its summer beta of the free program, which kicked off on June 15.

According to Chiu, the most important aspect of the Zoom-based program is the mentoring. Project Snapshot pairs high school mentees with college-level mentors in their pre-defined area of ​​interest, not only to provide support, guidance and assistance in this area, but to prepare students for the transition from high school to high school.

Each mentee receives the expertise of their mentor throughout the eight-week duration of the program, in addition to weekly professional and personal development workshops and resources to enrich their learning.

However, mentees aren’t the only ones reaping the benefits that Project Snapshot has to offer.

“Mentoring is a two-way street, and mentors will be able to learn from their mentees in ways they never expected,” Chiu said.

Students who are currently receiving a college education or who have graduated from college within the past two years can apply to become a mentor.

Panelists and professionals also provide information and training to mentors and mentees.

The mentoring program currently welcomes a wide range of mentors and mentees in different specialties and fields of study, including public and social services, interdisciplinary studies, social sciences, health and medicine, arts and humanities. , business and science, math and technology.

“We’re really lucky to have such a diverse perspective. … Not just the way people were brought up, but their professional background, ”Chiu said.

Project Snapshot also offers a research and development program for college students to enhance their personal skills and help them find their passion in their industry or major.

According to Chen, the research and development program provides for a more thoughtful exploration of students’ own careers.

The program implements projects and tasks to help students have something tangible to tap into when entering the recruiting system, Chen said.

Students in the research and development program will benefit from professional development webinars and external resources to facilitate their growth and education.

Currently, students with majors in health and medicine, business and social sciences across North America are participating in the research program.

While not all of the many applicants could be accepted into the program, Project Snapshot is also hosting public speaking series and events on their social media to bring value to a wider range of people, Chen said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of Project Snapshot’s operations take place online through Zoom.

Christi-Anne Weatherly, the program’s public relations coordinator, said she believes the way the project manages its online operations will reflect the number of established organizations that will operate in the future and thus prepare students for a world. post-virus.

“Some companies I know don’t return to the office until January, and some don’t return at all, never,” Weatherly said. “So I think we really help our students fit into the way businesses go forward with the way they run their operations, that they end up going back to the office, that they go back on certain days. of the week or maybe not at all. . ”

Weatherly said she was impressed with everything the program has accomplished since its inception.

“I have just been blown away by how much we’ve been able to accomplish in just two months, and I’m really excited to see where we can take that in the future,” Weatherly said.

Applications to join Project Snapshot’s fall program will open on July 20 and run for about a week, Chen said. Then the fall program will launch on September 14.