Category: Resilience
-
Carita Bailey Thompson
Growing up in Rogers Park, Carita Bailey Thompson realized at a young age that she wanted to make a difference for people in her city who looked like her. Carita’s desire to advocate for vulnerable populations sparked her interest in social services, and she knew that advancing her education in the field would also advance…
-
Aziza Mohammadi
Before Aziza Mohammadi arrived in Chicago as a 17-year-old refugee from Sri Lanka, she didn’t have the chance to complete her high school education, but she was determined to go to college. Knowing she would first need to get her high school diploma, the refugee agency that helped Aziza’s family of six resettle in Chicago…
-
Joyce Turner
Earning a degree and becoming a teacher was always a dream in the back of Joyce Turner’s mind. While she attended some college following high school, after a few semesters, Joyce was forced to push pause on her studies due to financial constraints. With young kids at home, she instead jumped into the workforce, landing…
-
Delilah Hernandez
Chicago native Delilah Hernandez always had an interest in going to college, she just felt that she didn’t know enough about how to get there. When she graduated from Ogden International High School in 2017, she decided to go where many of her high school peers were headed and completed a semester at UIC. That…
-
Tamba Torniwa
When Tamba Torniwa lost his parents at a young age due to lack of medical care in his home country of Sierra Leone, he knew that someday he would work to help improve the lives of others. Now, he is well on his way to becoming a nurse practitioner. Tamba arrived in the U.S. a…
-
Gerardo Franco
Kennedy-King College student Gerardo Franco has always known he wanted to work in film, but didn’t know how he would afford his education. Then, his high school counselor told him about the Media and Communications program at Kennedy-King College. He started classes the fall after he graduated from East Aurora High School in 2018. Because…
-
Khadijah Ahmad
Spring 2020 didn’t slow Khadijah Ahmad down. A full-time student who attends Daley College close to her Auburn-Gresham home and works as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a nursing home in Hyde Park, Khadijah says her desire to help others is fueling her through this difficult time. In March 2020, when her five mainly science…