Student Spotlight: Alexis Spears

14-year-old Alexis Spears is an 8th grader at Franklin Fine Arts Center. Her favorite subject is science because she enjoys working in the lab. She is also good at math, but isn’t quite ready to say she likes it. At school she is part of the music and dance clubs. She is also on the volleyball team.

For high school, Alexis would like to attend UIC College Prep, a campus of Noble Street Charter School. Long term, she is interested in working with kids as a pediatric nurse. She babysits a lot and is the oldest of many siblings, which means she has been informally training for her dream job for years.

As for college, Alexis would like to stay in Chicago. She has been to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida, and a few other states, but she is most comfortable here and would rather not have to get used to another city.

Outside of school, Alexis simply loves to hang out with friends, preferably downtown at Water Tower Place. She also likes to attend Cabrini Connections! She came to us last year from Cabrini Green Tutoring Program after hearing one of our most outspoken parents, Norine Rhodes, speak about Cabrini Connections at CGTP’s graduation.

Alexis now attends tutoring on Wednesday nights and gets all her work done with first year mentor Natalie Durda. “She’s fun,” says Alexis. “I can connect with her. We have a lot in common.” Alexis’s tip for new mentors is to not always be hard on your student. “Be a tutor, but also be a friend,” she says. “Let them know you trust them and that they can trust you.”

Thanks for the advice, Alexis. Good luck with getting into UIC College Prep!