Student Spotlight: Dionte Herron

Second-year student Dionte Herron was born in Chicago but moved to Milwaukee at the age of 3. He says it was a “quiet place” where “people didn’t come outside.” He himself didn’t go far and stayed inside to read most of the time. Also, there weren’t a lot of trees, and Dionte loves to climb trees.

10 years later, at the age of 13, he moved back to Chicago. Currently he lives with two of his sisters. He has seven siblings total; five of them older. Dionte is happy to be back in Chicago. “More fun, more friends, more people,” he says. Most of his family is in the area, too.

Dionte is in the 8th grade at Jenner Elementary Academy of the Arts. As part of the curriculum there, he has to take arts classes. So far he has learned to play the guitar, the bass clarinet, and the drums. His favorite period is lunch (I believe him), but he says his best subject is math. When he grows up he wants to be an electrical engineer. He has played a lot of video games growing up and would like to be involved in making them. If that doesn’t work, his backup plan is to become a carpeter.

In the fall, Dionte will move on to high school. He is probably going to Lakeview High School, but he has applied to other schools such as Walter Payton College Prep that he is waiting to hear from. He’s not excited about high school like everyone else because, he says, “It’s just going to be harder, and more work.” I suspect he’ll enjoy it when he gets there, though.

Dionte heard about Cabrini Connections through his friend and Youth Leadership Council member De’Jour Stewart. “I like it here,” he says. “I get my homework done instead of going home and going to sleep.” His mentor is 10-year veteran and member of the Board of Directors Mike Hayes. “Mike is fun and he’s helping me learn,” says Dionte. There primary foci during tutoring sessions are algebra and social studies.

As Dionte grows up, he imagines he will stay around Chicago, close to his grandmother. He likes the summers here as well. We’re happy to have you Dionte. We hope you stay involved at Cabrini Connections for many years to come.