A record 180 NaviGo Scholars met their coaches and engaged with their business sponsors to get ready for the coming school year — which will offer them unprecedented experiences to develop a vision for their future.
NaviGo is a college and career prep services nonprofit founded in 2011 by a team led by former Kentucky Superintendent of the Year, Tim Hanner who was also superintendent of Kenton County schools. The Scholars program engages high school students with coaches and sponsors to help students understand the career or college opportunities and options available to them
NaviGo welcomed its 2016-17 NaviGo Scholars in a kickoff event at Thomas More College on Monday.
The kickoff is held each year to launch the start of the school year for the NaviGo Scholars. Scholars get the opportunity to engage in team-building activities within their cohort groups, meet their NaviGo College and Career Coaches, and get their first opportunities to engage with their business sponsors.
Toyota, Duke Energy, Mazak, Pomeroy, Skyward, SD1, US Bank, CForward, Heritage, Toyota Boshoku, and Citi are collectively sponsoring about 180 students in the Northern Kentucky area, a dramatic growth from the 32 students sponsored in 2014.
Students apply for the opportunity to be NaviGo Scholars and are hand-picked by sponsor companies. Throughout the school year, Scholars will meet monthly with their NaviGo College and Career Coach and with a representative from the sponsor company. In addition to college and career coaching, they get hands-on learning opportunities to help them make better decisions about their career path, and be better prepared for life after high school.
In addition to the Northern Kentucky NaviGo Scholars program, which is administered by the Northern Kentucky Education Council, NaviGo launched its United Way of the Bluegrass Toyota NaviGo Scholars program in Central Kentucky on Tuesday. Twenty students were accepted into the program for this inaugural year in Lexington.