Student Spotlight: Israel Dosie

Israel Dosie is a 7th grader at Andersen Academy. He has been on the A-B Honor Roll since Pre-K and his favorite subjects are social science and social studies. He recently learned the science behind headaches - how they occur and how to prevent them - so if you need advice on how to get rid of a headache, talk to Israel. He also plays shooting guard for the school's basketball team, so he can teach you a thing or two about jump shots as well. He has been a starter for three years and Andersen has won three citywide championships.

For high school, Israel wants to go to Whitney Young, Lane Tech, or Lincoln Park, and for college, he wants to go to University of North Carolina (UNC). "I told my tutor that," says Israel, "and he said, 'What? I went to UNC.'" That's right. Israel's mentor, Brian Wallace, graduated from UNC. He knows exactly what it takes to get there and succeed, and Israel is starting to figure it out, too. He has been on all of our college trips this year; to Northwestern, DePaul, and UIC. He knows what college is like and he knows what kind of grades and test scores he will need to get into the college of his choice.

Brian and Israel have been a great match since starting in September. Israel says they talked a lot when they first met which helped them get to know each other. Israel brings his homework to each tutoring session and if he doesn't have any, Brian will make up problems or test him on words. For example, he'll have him spell out words and give their definitions. Great idea, Brian!

Israel wants to be an architect when he grows up because he loves to draw and measure. ("Give me a picture and I can draw it.") This is one of the reasons why he joined Art Club on Monday nights. He made a bracelet this week and his previous project was a brick wall with a fist made of wires going through it. He is also in Tech Club on Tuesday nights, in which he has been working on Cabrini Connections holiday logos (below). Lastly, Israel is the youngest and only first-year student member of the Youth Leadership Council. He joined so that he could help out around the center and plan fun activities. Right now he is in charge of publicity for our winter clothes drive, so look out for an announcement from him soon.

Israel has six brothers and five sisters. He got to see a lot of his family last week for Thanksgiving. He had two Thanksgiving meals, each at a different house. (He's still feeling the effects.) His favorite dish is ham and dressing with stuffing. His favorite meal overall is pork chops and chicken. For the rest of the holidays, he has no big plans but to relax once school is out. For Christmas, he hopes to get some new clothes and an iPod.

To explain how he's maintained such good grades over the years, Israel says he always thinks, "What would my oldest brother do?" His oldest brother, who lives in Minnesota and attends community college, is a major role model in his life. Israel also studies a lot. "I keep reading until I get it," he says. "I write more and more notes so then it's easy on the test." You sound like you're in college already, Israel! Thanks for your continued participation in everything at Cabrini Connections. We look forward to seeing you around for a long time to come.