T.A.S.T.E
Take A Student To Your Employment

Aspiring Youth® created the "Take a Student to your Employment" (TASTE) Program™ in August 1997.  The TASTE Program™ provides at-risk youths with a taste of what it is like to work in the business, government, academic and legal environments.

   The TASTE Program™ was the vision of nationally-recognized author LeAlan Jones, a former at-risk youth, who believed that students could better picture themselves becoming business persons and lawyers if they interacted with employees in an office setting. 

The TASTE Program reaches out to students who may not be included on the days when parents bring their children to work.  The TASTE Program provides students with an oportunity to see inside buildings that they may only have seen from afar.

   The pilot program for the TASTE Program took place in twenty towns and cities across Texas on December 12, 1997 in partnership with the Texas Young Lawyers Association and State Bar of Texas.  More than 1,100 students participated in the first TASTE Program.

    In honor of the TASTE Program's service to at-risk youth, the cities of Houston and Austin have issued proclamations for Aspiring Youth "Take a Student to your Employment (TASTE) Program Day".

    Aspiring Youth® has partnered with businesses, colleges, law firms, govermental entities, the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Young Lawyers Association, local young lawyers associations and the American Bar Association to locate workplaces nationwide which hosted the students.  More than 5,000 students have visited workplaces around the country to get a "taste" of why it is important to graduate and study hard in school.

   The TASTE Program™ is implemented several times during the school year.  Look on the Aspiring Youth® website calendar in the "NEWS" section for the next TASTE Program™ dates.