Success Stories

Brandies Dunagan

Social Media Specialist

i.c.stars|*

Brandies' Story

Brandies Dunagan

i.c.stars graduate, 2006

Finding the i.c.stars training program came at the perfect time in my life. I was

unemployed and unable to find a job, with only three weeks of unemployment left.

It was a stressful time and I had nowhere to turn. I was considering returning to a

telemarketing job I once loathed. I was on my own, and unable to rely on my family

for support and needed to get back to work. Then I happened to see a TV news

story about i.c.stars, and even though I wasn’t a techy person, I was drawn to the

leadership development component and knew I was smart enough to learn about

technology. Within weeks I completed the i.c.stars interviewing process and began

the program.

I had always been community-oriented so I really enjoyed the program. I learned

cool technology skills and better understood how I could take Bold Chicago to

greater heights, the organization I became a founding board member of nine years

ago that targets Chicago Public School teens. As a result of the i.c.stars program, I

have become a stronger community organizer, with a flourishing website business

and community organization.

My training through i.c.stars has changed my life in ways I never dreamed of.

With the leadership skills I acquired, I now can think past the day-to-day chore of

working to make ends meet, and instead create opportunities for others and make

the community a little better each day.

Today I volunteer my time to teach html to teens through The Black Data Processing

Association and sit on two committees for Black Angel Network, helping bring

its mentoring program for girls up to 21 years old to community organizations,

including the South Shore Cultural Center.

The initial volunteer work I did following the i.c.stars program in 2006, which

included building websites for the CPS Recycling Project, the CPS Harris Fellows

Project and Black Angel Network, led to opening my own business, Second Nature

Digital. The website services I offer to my clients are firmly rooted in i.c.stars

leadership principles and specifically cater to community organizations and small

businesses. I always work within their budget and provide the software solutions

they need so they can also help make the community a little better every day.

Tiffany Mikell

Owner/CEO

MikellSolutions, Inc.

The Mikell Solution

After spending most of my life going to magnet schools, it was a difficult adjustment

to enter a Chicago public high school. The lack of structure and other necessities

such as books was hugely disappointing and I felt like I was wasting my time so I

dropped out and earned my GED. I wanted to be a high school English teacher but

struggled with colleges, changing from one to another until I had my son, Cameron.

I learned about i.c.stars when Cameron was eight months old, and even though I

didn’t have any technology skills I was a logical thinker and knew I needed a career.

I needed to be a positive role model and provide a good future for my son. As a new

mother, the rigorous training program concerned me at first—not being able to

miss a day or be late even once. Cameron was born premature and in and out of the

hospital a lot, and I had to rely on friends and family who implored me to quit the

program. But the challenge of the assessment initially made me want to get involved

and the promise it held for a brighter future kept me going.

Sticking with the i.c.stars program did more than teach me the value of commitment,

it helped me overcome personal obstacles and become an adept problem solver.

Following the i.c.stars program, I enrolled in a 30-day java boot camp with a few

dozen others, hoping to get hired by Accenture. Many participants had a college

degree, but with the skills I acquired through the i.c.stars project-based curriculum,

not only was I able to compete, I was hired as an Associate Software Engineer.

Four years later, I am still at Accenture where I am involved in the African American

Interest Group, working with high school kids who shadow me on the job for

a day, and offer onsite presentations to Chicago Public Schools students about

working. I also like to volunteer my time to help strengthen the community and

spend Saturday morning and afternoons coaching participants in the Black Data

Processing Association. And, of course, my commitment to i.c.stars endures and

since 2009, I’ve been coordinating the alumni involvement for the annual TechBash.

Aaron Cox

Associate

Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

Adding Value Among Chicago's Entrepreneurs Through The Training At i.c.stars|*

When I first heard about i.c.stars, I was home for the summer after completing my

first year in business management at Jackson State. Intrigued about the training

program i.c.stars offered, I learned more and decided to apply to the program

instead of returning to college. I wanted to spend my time and energy working

towards something that mattered to me, and the i.c.stars program promised to be

more valuable in helping me develop business leadership skills and teaching me

how to bring value to any organization. I was also excited about the opportunities

I’d have to network with industry leaders.

I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and knew that i.c.stars would give me

the hands-on experience I needed to get into the corporate business world right

away. Shortly after graduating from the program, I landed my first full-time position

with a prominent investment banking firm where I stayed until recently.

I strengthened my networking skills so much through the i.c.stars training

program that when I attended the iOpener conference in August 2010, I was

offered a position with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. I work as a

membership outreach associate, helping businesses understand our benefits. I’m

also spearheading the Chamber’s inaugural 2011 Entrepreneur Resource Guide for

new Chicagoland businesses.

I also initiated the i.c.idols competition as a part of the i.c.stars training program to

help interns sharpen their networking and interviewing skills. Talking about your

skills helps to more clearly shape important key messages about yourself. Practice is

key when it comes to precisely expressing how you can add value to an organization

and the i.c.idols competition teaches participants how to sell themselves, including

honing their “elevator pitch,” and preparing them for every possible business

opportunity.

Vera Shabazz

IT Support

United Airlines/GTS

Dreams Taking Flight in IT

Great news - I landed a job with United Airlines! I start later this month in their IT service center. This is quite an accomplishment considering that I used to think “IT” was a pronoun, not an acronym for “Information Technology.” But not anymore. Through the 16-week training program at i.c.stars I learned the skills needed to field calls and resolve technical problems from all over the world.

It’s quite a change from the banking industry where I started working as a teenager. I left banking in 2006 because I wanted to do something more with my life than count other people’s money. My dream was to help victims of domestic violence, and starting with little more than an idea, I did just that.

I helped women living in shelters find permanent homes, connect to community resources and get jobs. It was on a search for a job for one of my clients that I heard about i.c.stars. After going to the training session to check it out - I mean, who gets paid to go to school? - I discovered it was not too good to be true but an incredible program dedicated to giving people like me technical and professional skills to advance in our careers.

And advance I did on September 20 when I joined the Friendly Skies. But don’t worry, I haven’t given up on my dream to help victims of domestic violence. With assistance from i.c.stars, I have assembled a top-notch board of people in the business community who will help my resource center, Virginia’s House, assist women trying to pull their lives back together after suffering abuse.

Thanks for cheering me on and good luck to everyone else out there looking for a job or a better job.

Beatrice Elizalde

Development Analyst II

Health Care Service Corporation

Real life leadership

While working towards my bachelor’s degree in business management at Robert Morris College, my grandmother had a heart attack. I decided to take a semester off to support my mom who had been taking care of my ill father and would need to care for her mother. Her hands were full and she needed me.

I had just earned an associates degree in Computer Networking and figured I could return without a problem to complete my B.A. Unfortunately, I lost my scholarship because of my leave of absence, and even though I continued my internship through the City of Chicago, I didn’t make enough income to finish my degree.

I was looking for a solution, a way to earn extra money in order to return to college when I came across an i.c.stars ad offering pay-based training. I already had a strong technical background—in addition to my degree, I created several information-tracking databases at the City of Chicago—and I knew the program was right for me.

The i.c.stars training program offered so much more than I could have ever expected or dreamed of. In addition to sharpening my technology skills and applying real solutions to real projects, I developed leadership skills and learned how to work with a team of people to achieve targeted results. For the first time, I understood how to delegate tasks and allow others to take responsibility and ownership of projects.

More importantly, I also learned how to develop a business plan, and during my training I created a five-year plan for a community center that would teach kids how to use leadership skills to make opportunities for others. Now five years into the plan, I have developed a relationship with the principal of Nathan Davis Elementary School, where I have been offering various programming through my organization Inspire by L.O.V.E. (Leadership, Opportunity, Value, Education) for the past four years.

I’ve recruited a team of dedicated volunteers who have worked with me for many years and formed partnerships with local businesses to host fundraisers and other activities in order to give money back to the community, provide a backpack filled with school supplies to 85 percent of students and make donations to shelters. Inspired by L.O.V.E. programs like the annual Christmas Talent Show and the Back to School fundraiser are designed to get kids involved so they can develop their leadership skills and teach or learn from others.

I learned the importance of giving back to the community through i.c.stars, and do my best to juggle raising my four children, growing my business, working full-time and volunteering. Even with my busy schedule, I’m inspired by volunteering at i.c.stars, teaching interns project management and emotional intelligence skills as well as getting involved in annual fundraising events for Chicago Cares, United Way, and others through my full-time employer.

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