The primary goal of the Dream Connectors is to provide seventh grade students, primarily those from less advantaged backgrounds, with the opportunity to learn about diverse career opportunities available in the Upstate. The project consists of pilot programs that will connect students at the Hughes Academy of Science and Technology and Lakeview Middle School with Upstate businesses, namely BMW, Greenville Health System and Michelin.

Through novel collaboration between teachers and administrators at the pilot schools, the Greenville County School District and the Dream Connectors team, the program will follow a multi-step process—(1) classroom exposure to the many career opportunities in healthcare and high-tech manufacturing, (2) on site visits to the workplaces and (3) follow up classroom sessions to deepen understanding of the experience. Through the pilot programs, students will obtain firsthand knowledge about careers in the areas of health sciences and manufacturing, ranging from careers available to employees with a high school diploma to those requiring advanced degrees. In short, the Dream Connectors aspire to open the minds of middle school students to the many worlds of opportunity right here in the Upstate—to help them create a dream for themselves—and then to connect those dreams to their schoolwork and to the jobs that could one day be theirs.