Student Spotlight: Whitney Hemphill

Whitney Hemphill is a senior at Wells Community Academy High School who is completing her SIXTH year at Cabrini Connections. Whitney was born and raised in Cabrini Green but she is moving to the south side next month. “It’s time for something new,” she says. She enjoyed growing up in Cabrini Green because a lot of people were around and she made a lot of friends, but now a lot of those people have moved away.

Whitney is the youngest of five children. “I used to get anything I wanted,” she says. Her older sister, Angelene, graduated from Cabrini Connections in 2009. She now attends Harold Washington College. Whitney and Angelene were in the Art Club together for several years. That is one of the activities that first hooked Whitney into the program.

Student Spotlight: Marcus Burks

Marcus Burks is the second student to be featured in the student spotlight for a second time (Melissa Young). He was originally featured as an 8th grader at Wells Prep in March 2009. Two years later, he is a rising junior at King College Prep. Marcus is from the far south side of Chicago and has four siblings.

He has three younger sisters who “make me feel like a leader” and an older brother who he’s close with. Marcus aims to be a positive influence in his sisters’ lives because “I wouldn’t want to see them doing anything negative.” What personally keeps him going while he’s looking out for others? “Hopes and dreams of going to college,” he says.

Student Spotlight: Jerman Beathea

8th grader Jerman Beathea was born in Cabrini Green and lives there now, but in between, he moved around a lot. Jerman has lived on the west side of Chicago, on the south side twice, and in Minnesota for two years! If you think Chicago’s cold, Minnesota is worse. Jerman says it was fun at times, but mostly he’s glad to be back in Chi-town.

Student Spotlight: Javon Gordon

Javon Gordon is a 7th grader at Manierre Elementary School. He lived in the Cabrini Green area until a couple years ago when his family moved to the west side. He says the move was tough because he left a lot of his friends, but participating in Cabrini Connections gives him the opportunity to come back. Javon’s older brother, William Gallion, who is an 11th grader at Lincoln Park High School, has been a member of the program since 2007.

Student Spotlight: Elisabet Ortiz

First year student Elisabet Ortiz was born in St. Anthony Hospital in Chicago on Mexican Independence Day (September 16th). She attends Lincoln Park High School where she is in the double honors program. Her favorite subject right now is chemistry but she understands the math component and she enjoys doing experiments. “I love playing with fire,” she says, literally.

Elisabet says school is important because, “I need to go to school to be what I want to be. I’d die if I didn’t go to school. You have to work for your long-term goals,” and she does just that! Elisabet’s goal is to graduate high school with a 4.5 GPA. She plans to join the military (noncombat) after school, come back and go to Harvard, get a Ph.D. in Law, become governor, and become the first female president of the United States!

Student Spotlight: Justin Fields

Justin Fields was born outside of the United States in Kingston, Jamaica. He moved to Chicago when he was 12 months old and he has been here ever since. Justin likes Chicago because most of his family lives here and the summers are great. He does love to travel, though. He has been to Mississippi and Virginia and he even thinks that Virginia might be better than Chicago. If Justin could go anywhere right now, he would go back to Jamaica or visit California.

As a child, Justin was shy, but he got over it thanks to people who introduced him to their friends. He was the beneficiary of networking just like we hope you all are here at Cabrini Connections.

Student Spotlight: Kevin Stanfield

Cabrini Connections alumnus Kevin Stanfield moved to Cabrini Green at the age of 3. He says it was hard growing up in the area because he had trouble fitting in with people from his building. It was like a competition to see who had the nicest things. But this is something a lot of young people struggle with and Kevin made his way through.

At the age of 13, Kevin’s mom took a chance and moved with him (her only child) to California. That didn’t last long, though, as they came back after just a year. They missed their family too much, most of which is in or near Chicago. Kevin loves Chicago because it has activities for every season. “This city is like a never-ending event,” he says. Whether it’s the beach during the summer or hay rides during autumn, there’s always something to do.

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.

Student Spotlight: Paris Lockett

Paris Lockett has always lived in Chicago and has always been a “good gal.” She’s outgoing and has a lot of friends; a personality she says she got from her father and grandmother. She has a large family: three sisters, one brother, two nieces, and one nephew. All her siblings are older, so she gets to learn from their mistakes, and her nieces and nephews are younger, so she constantly has somebody to play with.

Paris is a junior at Phoenix Military Academy. Going into high school, she thought it would be all segregated by groups, but, instead, she says, “We’re all like one big family.” She is in three clubs: acting club, book club, and the sisterhood program, which is an all-girls program designed to help teens support each other.

Student Spotlight: Carmenlita Jackson

Carmenlita Jackson is 16-years-old. She says she was “weird as a kid” and has “made people laugh” all the way from pre-school. At her graduation, when they asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she jokingly said, “a mommy.” Her mother and grandmother in the audience laughed and rolled their eyes.

Presently, Carmenlita attends Dunbar Vocational Career Academy in the Douglas community area. As a freshman, she didn’t like it too much; as a sophomore, she was an honor roll student; and now, as a junior, she says it’s hard again, “but I’m going to get through.”

Student Spotlight: Cierria Tharpe

17-year-old Cierria Tharpe is a senior at Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center. This is her SIXTH year at Cabrini Connections and she has been with the same mentor, Diana Restrepo, the entire time. “She listens to me,” says Cierria. “I can go to her and tell her anything. She’s like family to me.” It sounds like their relationship has grown to a great place, which is now especially useful because Cierria is going through the college admissions process.

“I’m ready for college,” she says, “but I’m in that phase where I don’t think I can get in.” Cierria was on the honor roll in grammar school, but she wishes she had done better in high school. Her recommendation for students headed to high school is: “Don’t loose focus… Get your work done or you’re going to make it even harder on yourself.”

Student Spotlight: Starisha Owens

14-year-old Starisha Owens has always lived in Chicago. She loves everything about the city. A hidden gem (a place she likes to go that others might not know about) is Martin Luther King Jr. Park Roller/Inline Skating Rink. When she gets older, however, Starisha wants to “move away from all the craziness” and “be by myself for awhile.” She dreams of moving to Los Angeles or Atlanta after graduating from college.

Starisha is in the 7th grade at Walt Disney Magnet School. In general, she says she loves school. “All of my friends are there. It’s like a family.” Starisha’s favorite subject is writing because it helps her express her feelings. It helps at school and at home because when she can’t talk to anybody else, she can talk to her notebook. The subject she struggles with most is math, but she plans to get better by staying focused, working hard, and constantly looking over her notes. Good plan!

Student Spotlight: Andrion Rutledge

Andrion Rutledge attends Lincoln Elementary School where he is in the 7th grade. His favorite subject is math and his least favorite subject is French, however, he does appreciate that Lincoln requires students to take foreign language classes. (I didn’t take my first foreign language class until the 9th grade.)

At school, Andrion plays shooting guard for the basketball team. Basketball is his favorite activity and he dreams of one day becoming an NBA star. His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls.

Student Spotlight: Melissa Young

Melissa Young (left) is a junior at Josephinum Academy. Since grammar school, she had always been a C student, but now she has a B average. She tells me, “I found a way to make it easier… by studying more, doing my homework, and going up to teachers before school, during lunch, and after school.” Melissa’s tip for 7th & 8th graders who will soon be in high school is: “Make sure your teachers know your name. Be the outside student instead of falling in the crowd.”

She says she was inspired to improve her grades after learning about how colleges look closely at your junior year. As long as she can show improvement over her four years, Melissa believes she can get into a good college or university. Her dream schools are Columbia College, Northwestern University, and DePaul University.

Student Spotlight: Breonca Hyles

Thursday night mentee Breonca “Bebe” Hyles is from the Cabrini Green neighborhood of Chicago. She has enjoyed the start of her junior year at Crane High School, but says it has been challenging with the added pressure of the ACT test. Her favorite subject is history, mainly because she has a good teacher, while her toughest subject is science, though she still enjoys it.

Her tip for 7th & 8th graders who will soon be freshman in high school is: “stay on track”/”don’t fall off.” It’s important to get off to a good start so you can maintain a good record throughout high school. The first class you take and the last class you take effect your GPA in the same way.

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.

Student Spotlight: Kanah Bradley

Kanah Bradley grew up on the south side of Chicago before moving to the north side, where she lives now, when she was 10. She has two siblings: one sister (28) and one brother (26). As much as she loves the city, Kanah, who is a senior at Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center, wants to move out of state for college. Her dream school is Duke University, but she is also interested in Cornell, Howard, Stanford, and, after this week’s college visit, Northwestern.

Student Spotlight: Cantrell Strauther

13-year-old Cantrell Strauther (seen above in Video & Filmmakers Club) is in the 8th grade at Lincoln School. His favorite subject is science because of the labs and projects. His most recent experiment involved making gas burn. (Be careful!) Cantrell’s least favorite subject is math, but he cites his mentor, Jeremy Brown, for helping him get better. They meet together on Thursday nights and have done so since March 2010.

Student Spotlight: Jordan Stephens

First year (first month!) student Jordan Stephens has already established himself as an excellent addition to the Cabrini Connections family. Jordan, who attends tutoring on Wednesday nights after switching from Thursday, has joined two clubs (Art and Tech), is on time to all activities, and has not missed an SVHATS entry (5-for-5). His mentor, Sundi Brewer-Griffin, who Jordan met last week, is a graduate of Northwestern University who intends to help him with math and reading.

Student Spotlight: Avery Harris-Russell

First year student Avery Harris-Russell is a 9th grader at Ogden International High School. His favorite subject is social studies because, “I love talking about what happened in the past,” and, “I want to know what my ancestors went through.” This reminds me of a famous quote from James Baldwin: "If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go."