The Greenwood Project Expands High School FinTech Program with Support from Citadel and Citadel Securities

New partnership doubles the number of high school students served by the program, providing critical skills and exposure to opportunities in finance for high-performing, Black and Latinx students.

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Greenwood Project

Jan 18, 2022, 08:37 ET

CHICAGO, Jan. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greenwood Project today announced a new partnership with Citadel and Citadel Securities to significantly expand its summer program for Chicago high school students.

With funding from Citadel and Citadel Securities, The Greenwood Project will expand its summer FinTech Institute to serve 60 high school students in 2022, primarily from Chicago's South and West sides. The initiative launched in 2016 with five students in the pilot program and has since served more than 470 Black and Latinx students in Chicago. Over 75% of the program's alumni are working in finance.

"The Greenwood Project is excited to partner with Citadel and Citadel Securities to expand our High School FinTech Institute. This program was created to meet a critical need for financial firms: a shortage of talent, especially talent of color, with robust coding experience," said Bevon Joseph, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Greenwood Project. "Our model shows that this early introduction to programming languages helps students identify an interest in and talent for coding and ultimately leads to more of our scholars entering FinTech career pathways."

The High School FinTech Institute will focus on teaching financial literacy through coding with exposure to both the stock market as well as the coding languages Python and R.

"The Greenwood Project's high school program reaches students at a pivotal point in their academic journey, when skills-based training and exposure to new opportunities can open pathways to success," said Gerald Beeson, Chief Operating Officer of Citadel. "We are proud to invest in these scholars who will help shape the future of our industry."

Citadel and Citadel Securities have been leaders in expanding access to opportunities in finance and STEM fields through investments in programs for underrepresented and minority students.

Participants in The Greenwood Project's High School FinTech Institute will have opportunities to engage directly with Citadel and Citadel Securities team members through the curriculum and with on-site visits to the firms' global headquarters in Chicago.

About The Greenwood Project
The mission of the Greenwood Project is to create career pathways in the financial services industry for Black and Latinx students and partner with companies to find equitable and inclusive solutions for recruitment, retention, and advancement.

Their educational mission is achieved through a robust curriculum that teaches students the skills they need to succeed in a financial services internship. After rigorous training, students are immersed into an internship experience to get hands-on practice and build their resume. Greenwood Project's goal is to capture students in high school, build their interest, teach them the skills to be successful, coordinate an internship experience for them, and help them translate that experience into a full-time offer.

Media Contact
Bevon Joseph
Co-Founder & Executive Director
[email protected]
1-312-857-9758

SOURCE Greenwood Project