Category: Center of Excellence
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Felecia Tiney
During my adolescent years, I was forced to make sacrifices to prioritize the attention required to care for my family. I became a mom at a young age and dropped out of high school when I was 18. I had to overcome home insecurities and depression. But I never gave up. 25 years and 12…
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Dr. Doris Espiritu
Dr. Doris Espiritu has been teaching and leading programs in chemistry, biophysics, engineering, and computer science at City Colleges of Chicago for fifteen years. She is continually striving to provide research experiences, professional development, and other exceptional opportunities for her students. She has partnered with institutions like Princeton University and Northwestern University, which recruit students…
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Fabian Williams
A lot has changed throughout my life, but my fascination with computers and computer networks has remained constant. I grew up in Jamaica and moved in 2001 to Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, a wonderful, diverse community. As a new immigrant, I worked various jobs, but I dreamed of working with computers. I earned a few…
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Jose Cueva
Jose Cueva was born in Lima, Peru, as the fifth son of six siblings. Jose says his adolescence was educationally torn between the Catholic religion and militarism in schools. He graduated from high school in 1990 and received a scholarship to study art at the School of Fine Arts in Lima. However, the internal war…
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Marie-Christine Des Rosiers
Marie-Christine Des Rosiers grew up in a French-speaking household in Ontario, Canada, and earned Canadian bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music before moving to Chicago six years ago. Watching her mother’s experience with rehabilitation related to cancer and end-of-life care, Marie-Christine was inspired to change careers to become a physical therapy assistant. She felt warmly…
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Andres Gerena
Andres Gerena came to Wright College after graduating from Lane Tech High School and earning the Star Scholarship. He is a part of the college’s guaranteed admissions Engineering Pathways program. At Wright, Andres was involved with multiple organizations and became President of the National Society of Black Engineers—Wright College Chapter. He was a tutor in…
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Marvens Saint-Juste
When Harold Washington College student Marvens Saint-Juste was struggling to pay for his classes, he thought to himself, “there has to be a way [to take advantage of resources]—I just need to conduct the research.” The research was quicker than he originally imagined. In fact, just a few minutes later, Marvens found the application for…
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Diego Ramirez
One of the most challenging things about being undocumented is the uncertainty. For me, that challenge was magnified when I started thinking about college. I was born in Mexico, and I came to the United States with my family when I was three years old. I grew up in the Albany Park neighborhood and lived…
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Kiara Taylor
Kiara Taylor’s interest in nursing is personal—she was inspired to one day join the profession when a nurse helped to catch her Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis back in 2009. Though her journey to the job hasn’t come without obstacles, Kiara’s passion to help others and the support she received from Malcolm X College’s nursing program…
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Michael Sansone
After graduating from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in 2009, Michael Sansone was eager to jump into the workforce. He worked his way up in the restaurant industry and even operated a food truck—but, according to Michael, his growth was starting to plateau. That’s when he decided it was time to head back to…