Lanier High School has been awarded a $10,000 grant from Macy’s IT Department as part of an ongoing project between the department store retailer and the school.
The award funds the Embrace Project, an educational partnership that provides mentorship and collaborative working opportunities to support students in establishing 21st century skills, as well as college and career readiness skills with emphasis on business, entrepreneurship, technology and marketing.
“The partnership has shown students that their ideas have value, and that critical thinking in everything they do can spark immense change,” said Dr. Christopher Martin, principal of Lanier High School. “Students got to see behind-the-scenes on how the experiences they have with technology go from idea to implementation.”
Macy’s first partnered with the school in spring 2021 when it donated $10,000 to jumpstart the Embrace Project. The project’s team included 14 Lanier students and three teachers, along with 10 members from Macy’s Tech Team from cybersecurity, app design and production teams. In June 2021, Macy’s officially kicked off the program with a Zoom session in which they asked students to download the Macy’s shopping app, explore the app and determine “pain points” deemed frustrating to the consumer. The challenge was to identify a problem in the App and create a solution. The students worked weekly directly communicating with Macy’s IT staff to seek guidance and support.
In October 2021, the students presented their solutions to Macy’s Tech Team. Macy’s original plan was to recognize one team of students for their solution. However, both student team solutions were so strong that Macy’s took both solutions back to their division leaders and app designers.That work produced by the Lanier students led to the latest $10,000 donation and a continuation of the partnership.
“The additional grant is very exciting because it means Macy’s saw the value and return on the investment they made in our students,” Martin said. “This program created a connection where all involved saw direct benefits, and we believe that an extension of this partnership will have a positive impact on the students’ future success.”
