On Feb. 1, Mr. Silberman from the Atlas Scholars Program came to Carnegie to visit sophomores. The Atlas Scholars Program is a three-year commitment, over the summers of your sophomore, junior, and senior year, where you are immersed in summer internships, mentorships, energy curriculum, college preparation, scholarships and more.
The Atlas Scholars program was founded by Craig Taylor and Tejpal Singh in 2012 with the goal of “driving students personal and professional growth.” In the span of three summers, the program exposes students to a professional environment allowing them to grow their individual skills. The program also offers a chance for students to receive the Atlas Scholarship which is awarded to students who have performed highly and shown considerable growth throughout their time there.
Junior Kaiqi Chen, who has been in the program for almost a year and assisted Silberman with his presentation, spoke of her own experience. “It gives you guidance over your college applications and introduces you to a professional work environment and you also get the opportunity to talk with very prominent industry leaders and you meet with like the CEOs, COOs of companies and then also adding on to that you get to tour companies and also get support throughout the school year as well through SAT prep, ACT prep and more.” Chen said.
While the opportunities are prestigious and the organization seems impossible to get into, don’t count yourself out just yet.
“The requirements aren’t really too strict. I think you just got to have a GPA above a certain mark and then some recommendation letters ….. they’re not really looking for people with the best GPA or like the top ranks in the class. They’re mainly looking for people that are highly motivated and determined and have good and are good additions to like the team and the cooperative environment,” noted Chen.
Unfortunately, many students don’t know this or doubt their potential and probability of getting in and end up not applying at all.
The time commitment can also be intimidating. For those unsure about committing to a three-year program like the Atlas Scholars, or hesitant about their potential for growth, this might not be the best fit. The program’s three-year journey aims to track participants’ progress over time, emphasizing long-term development. Individuals seeking shorter-term engagements or uncertain about investing in a more extended program may find other options better suited to their needs and goals.
Take for instance individuals like John Covington, a sophomore who attended Silberman’s meeting and who wishes to pursue a field different from what Atlas Scholars provide.
“It’s more of an energy type of thing. The type of resume that I’m trying to build for myself is more of like political diplomacy and foreign Affairs type of thing and in Georgetown they offer that type of stuff like government” says Covington.
While the organization does focus on energy and finance it is not essential that you be interested in these areas of work, as you are immersed into different sectors and skills that are beneficial to whatever you want to go into. Chen mentioned such skills as building your own LinkedIn profile and writing professional emails, which are skills that you’ll be able to apply to any other field. You can also use these assignments of business and finance and apply them in your way to whatever field you would like to pursue. For example, every member is given a mentor to guide them through their tasks and questions and there are a lot of alumni that could be in the same field you want to pursue and they give you advice.
The deadline for sophomores to apply for the Atlas Scholars program is set for March 8. While the program offers students educational aid and prepares them for a professional work environment, Atlas can be limited to a specific field. Students looking to go into the energy and finance fields may find this experience to be useful in guiding them into these fields.
