July 31, 2025
As the Summer Career Institute program continues, our young people took an exclusive tour of the NanoGraf Corporation facility, located in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. NanoGraf was recently ranked by Time Magazine as one of the top green tech companies in the world.
On their visit, the youth learned how NanoGraf develops high-quality, energy-dense battery technology used in a range of applications from military to consumer. The presentation and tour were facilitated by the NanoGraph Board Chairman and former CEO Dr. Francis Wang, and Production Engineer, Andrew Lucchesi III.
On the tour, our young men saw the systems and equipment that NanoGraf engineers and scientists use to produce their products. They also learned about the educational requirements for employment and saw some of the company’s workers in action.
Brandon, a Mercy Home resident, gained new knowledge about engineering.
“It was cool to see what’s behind [engineering],” he said. “There’s a lot of different fields you can get into.”
During a Q & A session, Lucchesi III shared his career path, and emphasized the importance of utilizing their resources and asking for help when you don’t understand something.
“I think it’s good for them to come out and see people like me or Wang working and the different options they have [in engineering],” Lucchesi said. “It was great to connect with the kids.”
Wang shared the challenges and rewards of being an entrepreneur and gave the visitors important career advice. He said: “Live your dream. Dream big and find out what you’re passionate about. It’s not about how much money you make or prestige. It’s about loving what you do.”
Mercy Home and NanoGraf have developed a new partnership this year, and Wang expressed how special it is to collaborate with the Home.
“I’ve been so impressed with Mercy Home and what they’ve been able to do [for young people in Chicago],” Wang said. “[This was] a great opportunity to give back. What I loved about [this visit] was the opportunity to say one thing [to the young men and] if something that Andrew and I said that make a difference in their life, or set them down the right path or maybe gave them a different perspective, that made it all worth it.”
Thank you, NanoGraf, for giving our kids new perspectives on the engineering career field and encouraging them to dream big!
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