What an awesome way to end the week with Christmas in July for CCDI! Several months ago we were contacted by North St. Louis County native, Nicole L. who is a Regional Manger at Hilti, about how she could get involved with CCDI and she certainly went above and beyond the call! Today, Nicole and fellow Hilti Regional Manager, Morgan Young, stopped by North Technical High School with a truck load of tools for our CCDI students!

Thank you SO much to Hilti Group for this extremely generous donation! Our students will get a lot of hands on experience in the classroom to even better prepare them for their future careers in the construction industry! It is because of partnerships like this that CCDI can make such an impact with the young people we serve. We are so grateful to have the Hilti team’s support and involvement and looking forward to teaming up to continue to make a difference in St. Louis. Thank you Nicole, Morgan and Hilti for helping to build the foundation for change.

Congratulations goes out to Brandin Rayford, 2021 CCDI graduate, who recently began his career at Kuesel Excavating Co Inc. CCDI awarded Brandin a tool scholarship last week to help him stock up on work clothes and other items to get started. Brandin has been active in our program since his sophomore year. He was selected as a junior intern at Villa Lighting Supply, Inc. last summer and has been one of North Tech’s standout graduates. Brandin is a true testament to what the CCDI program is all about and of course that would not be possible without the help of Mr. Michael Steiniger and the Kuesel team! Thank you for bringing Brandin on board. We are also happy to report that Brandin recently purchased his first vehicle and is looking forward to starting his apprenticeship!

Graduates of the CCDI program teamed up with Habitat for Humanity and volunteers from Concrete Strategies, Clayco, PayneCrest Electric, Geotechnology and St. Louis Job Corps to lay two foundations on Habitat homes in the Gate District.

We were joined by CCDI grads Chris Conners (2016) and Keishawn Outlaw (2018) who are both carpenters with CSI and Rashad Johnson (2020) is a project manager intern with Clayco.

We also would like to give a shout out to the four St. Louis Job Corps construction program instructors that came out to volunteer! CCDI is proud to help sponsor and promote the great work that is happening on the St. Louis Job Corps campus!

Thank you to everyone who volunteered with us! We would like to give a special shout out and send a huge thank you to Kienstra Co. for donating over $10,000 of materials that were used in building the foundations on these two homes!! Thank you also goes out to Garry Bals, Director of Operations at Concrete Strategies for leading this volunteer effort!

CCDI is extremely excited to announce our 2021 “Build Our Future” Scholarship recipients! This annual scholarship is awarded to top-qualifying seniors in North St. Louis county who exhibit a desire to study and pursue a career in the construction industry!

Today, we had the opportunity to visit each of our newest scholars at their respective high school to celebrate their hardwork and dedication and present them each with a special award! Over the past 6 years, CCDI has awarded 30 academic scholarships to assist students in pursuing higher education. We are so proud to induct the class of 2021 Build Our Future students into our program! Congratulations!

Jamila Latimore, Jennings
Attending Missouri University of Science & Technology pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering

De’Aja Jackson, McCluer North
Attending Fontbonne pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Construction Management

Hannah Dinwiddie, McCluer North
Attending Missouri University of Science & Technology pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering

Blake Simino-Smith, Ritenour
Attending Kansas State pursuing a degree in Construction Management

Kaniyah Ilyas, Ritenour
Attending St. Louis Community College pursuing a degree in pre-engineering

Meet Juan Brown! Through our partnership with St. Louis Job Corps, we were connected with Juan who graduated as president of his class from the program in 2016. Since graduating, Juan has been interested in furthering his skills in the electrical pathway. CCDI wanted to help make that happen and recently helped to get Juan hired as an apprentice electrician at Power Up with The UP Companies. Congrats, Juan!

We had the opportunity to visit Juan on site at the Delmar Divine project to see how things were going. Mentorship is an important part of the program and we wanted to make sure we connected Juan with a support network at Power Up. Thank you, Michael Kennedy Jr, for welcoming Juan into the Up Co family and supporting the mission of the program.

CCDI also awarded Juan a tool scholarship and took him on a trip to Lowe’s Companies, Inc. to pick out new DEWALT drills! We are so happy to have crossed paths with this extraordinary young man who definitely has a 💡 future ahead! Thank you to everyone who helped to set Juan up for success and for continuing to.

We are recognizing 2020 CCDI & BUD graduate, Nia Sykes, who was recently hired by Blind Ambition. Nia attended both Jennings and North Technical HS where she completed the carpentry program. She has been an active student in CCDI for the past 3 years, attending nearly ALL our Saturday academies as well as being selected for an internship with K&K Supply two summers ago. Nia is working as an apprentice carpenter installing blinds and says she couldn’t be more happy to work for a company like Blind Ambition. This past week she was even given a company van to drive to and from work! CCDI awarded Nia with a tool scholarship to purchase everything she needs to get started in her new career. Congrats, Nia! Keep up your “ambitious” spirits! We know you will do great!