The Summer We Went for It
One Vision. One Team. 500+ Young People.
OUR STORY
There is no shortage of conversation about young people today
Summer U gave us something better: evidence
More than 500 young people chose to spend four to seven weeks of their summer learning in person, reporting early each morning to professional and college environments across Charlotte, building relationships, developing durable skills such as communication, problem-solving, and workplace habits that transfer across any job or industry, exploring artificial intelligence and emerging technology, and preparing for their futures.
From rising high school seniors beginning to imagine what comes after graduation to college students preparing to enter the workforce, Summer U brought together young people at different stages of the Road to Hire journey around a simple but important question: what becomes possible when opportunity is paired with high expectations, meaningful relationships, and real preparation for what comes next?
“One of the greatest parts of this journey was the people. I'm thankful for the friendships and relationships I built with my peers, who encouraged, challenged, and supported me throughout the program.”
SHAYLYN B. | COLLEGE JUNIOR, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
THE FOUNDATION
Building on a Model That Works
Summer U did not begin from scratch.
For more than a decade, Road to Hire has built pathways connecting young people to education, mentorship, employers, and careers. That model has increasingly attracted attention beyond Charlotte, including recent recognition in a report by the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC-Chapel Hill examining approaches that connect education, workforce preparation, employer partnerships, and regional economic opportunity.
Summer U created an opportunity to build on that foundation while asking a new question: What if we designed a summer experience around the entire Road to Hire student journey and the realities of the workforce young people are entering?
When CEO Dr. Monique Perry-Graves joined Road to Hire in summer 2025, she experienced the organization's existing virtual summer programming firsthand and saw both the strength of what was already in place and the opportunity to expand what summer could become.
The vision was not simply to move programming from virtual to in person. It was to create an experience spanning the student journey, from high school through college and toward career, while intentionally developing the skills, relationships, exposure, confidence, and social capital young people need to thrive.
That meant giving students opportunities to deepen their understanding of AI and emerging technology, strengthen workplace readiness and durable skills, interact with professionals and peers beyond their existing networks, and experience community and belonging as an intentional part of their preparation.
That vision became Summer U.
THE EXECUTION
A Team That Went for It
Bringing the idea to life required both speed and collective commitment.
Within a matter of months, the Road to Hire team designed and launched immersive four- and seven-week, in-person experiences across three Charlotte-area locations: Red Ventures headquarters, Johnson C. Smith University, and Central Piedmont Community College.
Summer U intentionally borrowed from the rhythms and expectations of the workplace. Students arrived at designated times, participated in structured half-day programming, worked alongside peers, engaged with professionals, and learned in environments connected to where their education and careers could eventually take them.
“I quickly realized that AI isn't about replacing critical thinking; it's about boosting it. Learning to pair AI, automation, and prompt engineering turned a time-consuming process into an efficient workflow.”
KOLBE B. | COLLEGE SOPHOMORE, NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY
Programming combined academic and career preparation with AI and emerging technology, workplace readiness, durable skills, relationship-building, and exposure to new industries, people, ideas, and possibilities.
The scale and speed of Summer U were also made possible by a broader community willing to invest alongside Road to Hire.
Corporate partners, together with philanthropic, private, and public supporters, made Summer U possible, contributing the resources, expertise, exposure, and opportunities needed to bring a three-site, 500-student experience to life in a single summer.
At the center of the execution was a Road to Hire team willing to turn an ambitious idea into an operating reality. Staff designed programming, coordinated multiple locations, activated partners, supported hundreds of young people, adapted in real time, and built an entirely new summer experience while continuing the organization's broader work.
THE IMPACT
500+ Young People Went for It, Too
Ultimately, the students made the idea real. More than 500 young people participated in Summer U in person committing a meaningful portion of their summer to their own futures.
500+
Students, founding class
89%
Satisfied with Summer U
1,700+
Students reached annually
Summer U's founding class represents a meaningful expansion of Road to Hire's reach. As Road to Hire's inperson, immersive summer offering, Summer U now stands alongside the organization's year-round work reaching more than 1,700 students annually, from Title I high schools through college and into career.
They traveled to workplaces and college campuses, learned alongside students at different stages of their journeys, met professionals, explored AI, with some students also earning AI certifications, practiced navigating professional environments, expanded their networks, and began seeing possibilities for themselves that may not have been visible before.
Across Summer U's AI learning experiences, 84% of students reported feeling confident using AI tools, and 85% produced an AI-assisted artifact they were proud to share with others.
For the first time, Road to Hire measured overall student satisfaction with its summer experience, and 89% of participating students reported being satisfied with Summer U. Because this was Road to Hire's first time measuring summer satisfaction at this scale, 89% becomes the organization's founding benchmark, a number future Summer U cohorts will be measured against as the program grows.
But the most compelling evidence of Summer U's impact may be what students have said themselves. In the weeks since participating, students have taken to LinkedIn to describe the relationships they formed, skills they developed, people they met, experiences that challenged them, and ways Summer U shaped how they think about college, career, and what might be possible for their futures.
Together, their experiences offer a different picture of young people and what can happen when they are given meaningful opportunity, clear expectations, strong support, and access to people who are invested in their futures.
“Growth only happens in uncomfortable situations. You have to be willing to push yourself outside of your comfort zone in order to see improvement.”
KIARA W. | RISING HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR, PHILLIP O. BERRY ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY
WHAT'S NEXT
From a Summer Idea to a Long-Term Strategy
The first Summer U demonstrated that this could become much more than a summer initiative. It showed what can happen when an organization builds on a strong foundation, sees a new possibility, moves quickly, activates partners, and creates an experience designed around both what young people need today and what they will need next.
Summer U will now become a significant component of Road to Hire's broader student experience and strategy, giving future cohorts opportunities to learn alongside one another, build networks, strengthen durable skills, experience professional environments, engage with emerging technology, and develop the relationships and confidence necessary to move from education into meaningful careers.
Building on this founding class, Road to Hire is already planning to expand Summer U's reach in the summers ahead, deepening AI credentialing opportunities, growing the number of partner sites, and extending the model to serve more students earlier in their journey.
What began as a single summer's experiment is becoming a permanent part of how Road to Hire prepares young people for what comes next.
The founding Summer U class demonstrated what becomes possible when vision is matched by shared commitment. More than 500 young people embraced the opportunity; the Road to Hire team brought the experience to life; and corporate, philanthropic, private, and public partners helped create the conditions for it to succeed. What they built together is no longer simply a summer experiment, but an experience worth carrying forward.