Jennifer works at Logan Square Neighborhood Association. Her work involves working with students from Kelvyn Park High School as well as community work. Some of her work at LSNA is to plan, organize, and prepare events. For example, she and others have meetings about how long each event is going to take or what they should do first. In various events that LSNA has they provide community members with information about medical care, immigration issues, housing, and foreclosure. These resources gives a chance for parents to become aware that there is help out there and it’s one less thing for them to worry about. They also fight for equal education and that means that they attend rallies, marches and they bring students so that they could get the experience of working toward social justice. It also opens their eyes to the real life issues that are out there that not only affect their school but the community as well. It teaches students to be young leaders and fight for what they believe is right even if it involves “breaking rules.” She explains that her job could be stressful at times, but over time she has learned to manage her time well. We asked what she liked most about the work she does and she answered, “When we talk about it at the end of the day. How it turned out, how many people attended, how many people liked the activities we did. The more people who showed up, the more people who liked what you do. It’s like we didn’t waste our time having these meetings to go to. Just like at the end seeing how many people we touched.” Overall she enjoys the work she does, because it connects her to the community in a positive way and it’s a way she serves her community as well.
Jennifer had many successes and rewards. As a junior in high school, she was nominated by Mr.Wagner for being civically engaged and helping out in the community as well as in school. She got to meet with the Mayor and other participants at a banquet downtown. She received second place in the city and was awarded a plaque and money for the Democracy in Action award. She explains that, “I never want to receive anything for the work that I do but whenever I do, it’s nice because it means that someone is actually recognizing the work that you’re doing.” As a senior she applied and received the Lovie Smith scholarship for her leadership positions. She was awarded $10,000 and was able to pay her first year at Northeastern with the scholarship. Also she is the first one in her family to go to college which she feels great about because she knows she’s setting a good example for her younger siblings, and they’ll hopefully follow the same steps into going to college. Throughout her successes it has taken struggles for Jennifer to get to the place and the person she is today into being successful. One of her struggles was her senior year when her father was deported to Mexico. It was a hard moment for her and her family because one of her family members wasn't there with them. But it was especially hard for her because it was her senior year and that’s when she needed him the most for parental support. But that made her realize that she couldn’t rely on people anymore and she had to do things for herself. When asked what she thought helped her be a successful student, she answered, “Even though the struggles were hard I thought they made me stronger.” Her struggles didn’t interfere for what she had set in mind which is going to college, she didn’t have the support but she grew capable and self-reliant and was able to succeed as an independent high-school student.
Jennifer’s ideas on changing the world are making the world a better place for her younger siblings because she believes that, “Being the oldest you have to pave the way and watch over them.” She also thinks that bullying is a bad thing and that no one should go through that. When she was a little kid she was bullied; she knows from personal experience how much it hurts that someone points out your defects. She describes it as, “It hurts you, you’re not the person you are once someone points out your defects.” She encourages others to stop bullying and to not be afraid to point it out when they see it happening. She says, “That’s one of the other reasons I would like to change the world so stuff like that can’t happen. Just stop, stand up and don’t be silent you guys!” Also she believes that the system of CPS is broken and one of the things she would change about CPS system is the way its funded because it’s unfair how the system works now. She would also change the curriculum of the classroom. For example, she would have students do community-based and hands on projects. This would involve not just sitting in a classroom but actually working in the community so that students could get to know more about the place they live in, where they come from, the people around them, and it opens their eyes to real world things. It’s also fun, students like it, and its productive. Some things she would do to make change happen is to teach high-school students, but not only teach but to motivate them as well to be young leaders in school and as well in their community, so that they could stand up for injustices and bring change. She says, “If I could do that to a student and make them feel like they could do something in their community or the world then my job would be one step closer to being finished. Changing one student at a time.” Other beliefs that she has about education is that if people have education and knowledge and know how to use it by investing money on it, then thats something that no one could take away from you. It would be able to help you in whatever you do.
Some of Jennifer’s heroes and motivations are her parents because they came from Mexico to the United States to what many call the “American Dream” and they tried their best to give her and her siblings a better life. She is grateful for what her parents had given them. She says, “I always admire them pushing forward, giving their all for us.” Her mom is also one of her motivators because she went through many obstacles but she managed to pull through. One of her heroes is Batman; she believes he’s the perfect example of a human effort because he is a human and he was able to overcome that his parents died and he did something positive. Another person that inspired her to do the work she does today was joining the social Justice Academy and meeting Mr. O’Bra, her teacher for Topics in Leadership who inspired her. She would closely pay attention to what his teaching strategies would be like and she noticed that he approached his students with a different strategy and he treats students equally. Just because he’s a teacher and has higher authority he doesn’t make it seem like that and students pay more attention when they’re treated equally. His approach to students motivated her to be a leader and wanting to imitate his strategy for the future. She also describes him as a role model and hero. Her definition for a hero is, “Someone who goes out of their way to help anyone. Even though that person is not asking for help, so if you know of someone who is struggling you still go and do what you can to make them feel better.” Another person she believes fits her definition of a hero is Juliet, a co-worker from LSNA. She described it as, “I feel like she has something in her that is able to connect to students and make them feel like they’re worth something.” Jennifer has many heroes and motivators that she looks up to and helped her grow as a person.
Jennifer’s work and struggles and her life as a student in Kelvyn Park inspired me to continue developing my leadership skills. She has also inspired me to start a community service group for my junior year. Also I realized some of the similarities we have like coming from the same background, attending the same school, and being involved in some of the same things in school. She is a strong individual, with her outstanding work in the community and still serving her high-school. I believe she is an inspiration to young people, and proves that anything is possible if you set a goal and make it happen.
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