On Wednesday, Sept. 25, the Chicago Fire and Southern New Hampshire University teamed up at SeatGeek Stadium to host a job shadow experience for local students as part of the Rompe Las Barreras (Break Through The Barriers) program.
Students from Gage Park’s Solorio Academy received a hands-on look at how the Chicago Fire front office and technical staff operate on a day-to-day basis. After a Q&A session with Chief Operating Officer John Urban, the group broke out into sessions with representatives from the Club's corporate sponsorships, data analytics, ticket sales, digital media, soccer operations, and community relations departments.
The purpose of the Rompe Las Barreras campaign is designed for Hispanic students to gain valuable real-world work experience, insights and exposure helping to motivate and encourage advanced career development beyond post-graduation. Wednesday's experience marked the Fire's second year of involvement with the program.
The students were given a behind-the-scenes tour of SeatGeek Stadium that included stops in the locker room, field tunnel, control room, press box and more.
To cap the experience, the group was then in attendance and recognized on-field at halftime at the Fire's final home match of 2019, a 2-2 draw with Toronto FC on Sunday.
