Shantae J. Edwards

Shantae J. Edwards attended Richard T. Crane High School on the Westside of Chicago and is the oldest child of seven and was the first in her family to graduate from college.  She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008 with a BA in Communications and a minor in Afro American Studies.  Shantae says her interests vary from “rollerblading, to testing out the new gadgets, networking and even focusing on the movement of education for our youth.”

She had the opportunity to work several internships while in college. “My very first internship was during the summer before college, where I worked as a bank teller with Northern Trust Bank, in the downtown Chicago area” remembers Shantae.  The following summer she interned at a real estate company and two summers later she interned at Scholarship Chicago.

Shantae says she is proud of maintaining a good connection with her Chicago Scholar mentor Zakia Davis, who was assigned as her mentor during the senior year of high school. Shantae proudly claims that Zakia played a significant role in her college journey by being a supportive role model. “The University of Illinois had a very comfortable environment that was easy to transition into. The campus is in the middle of two cities, Champaign and Urbana, and creates an atmosphere of being its own town.  Being at the University of Illinois I was surrounded by academic, career and emotional support” recounts Shantae. She also appreciated being surrounded by the community because it gave U of I students an opportunity to volunteer and work at the surrounding schools.  

After graduating from college last year Shantae had the option of joining Teach for America in Chicago or taking a summer internship at College Summit, Inc. in Washington, DC.  “After careful thought and consideration I chose to accept the internship and moved to DC a week after graduating from U of I.  I wouldn’t have known about College Summit if it wasn’t for Scholarship Chicago.  In 2002, I had the opportunity to attend a 4-day College Summit workshop at Loyola and Columbia University” remembers Shantae.  Even while in college Shantae was returning to volunteer at College Summit during the summer.  Shantae says “I am now a full-time employee at the College Summit National office, I would like to thank Scholarship Chicago for initiating this opportunity.”

As for the future goals, Shantae’s ambition is to enter graduate school in 2010 and focus on school counseling. She says “I want to be able to train other educators about the importance of not just getting students INTO college but helping them transition and graduate FROM college.”  Shantae is just the person to ask.