Welcome
Welcome to the Grow Our Own Minority Participation Program website. This program, which is sponsored by the City of Springfield, Sangamon County and Hanson Professional Services Inc. with support from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), is committed to helping Springfield’s minority youth attain college degrees and eventually full time employment in engineering and railroad-related fields. Grow Our Own selects students from middle school through college to participate in mentoring, educational initiatives, job training and internships. Opportunities along each of these pathways help to prepare high performing youth for successful, prosperous careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Everything that you need to know about this program – its goals, timeline and ways to get involved – can be found on this website. Visit often for the latest updates and/or sign up to receive periodic email notifications.
"The employee owners of Hanson are excited to have the opportunity to lead this important effort. We are trying to ramp up as many opportunities as possible so that these kids can get excited about science, technology, engineering, and math and determine if this is the career path they want to take."
— Satch Pecori, President & CEO of Hanson Professional Services Inc.
"This program is a good demonstration of what we can accomplish if we work together modestly to achieve a goal."