Archive for the ‘Alumni Highlights’ Category
August 6th, 2010
Whitney Voss, Administrative and Special Events Coordinator
The Urban Apprenticeship is an exciting opportunity we offer Chicago Center alumni that have just graduated college. More than a job it offers opportunities for learning and skill development in a supportive urban learning community.
The apprenticeship started in 1990 and grew out of the mutual interests of Chicago Center alums to prolong their contact with Chicago Center and the Center’s interest in strengthening its staff and program. It has exceeded expectations in both arenas and has become a great strength of Chicago Center. The Urban Apprentice usually spends one full year in residence at Chicago Center. This month Whitney Voss, Administrative and Special Events Coordinator talks about her experience with Chicago Center:
“Hello! My name is Whitney, one of the six apprentices finishing up our final week at the Chicago Center! I am amazed by how fast the time goes by and sad to be ending this wonderful opportunity to live in Chicago. I am grateful for my time at the Chicago Center, and now feel equipped with the tools to take on any adventure that comes my way!
My hometown is Sterling Heights, Michigan, about a half hour north of Detroit. I am an alumna of Albion College, Class of 2009, where I received a liberal arts education graduating with a degree in Interpersonal Communications and Dance.
I attended the Chicago Center my last semester at Albion, coming to beautiful snowy Chicago in January 2009 to participate in the academic term. To complete my credits to graduate, I wanted to find an Internship in dance in which I could learn the behind the scene facets of a dance company. After interviewing with several theatre and dance companies, I was excited for the opportunity to work as a Development Intern at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, a contemporary company internationally recognized for their innovative, groundbreaking movement. I was also lucky to receive the Kemper Arts Fellowship, a program that allowed me to extend my work into the city, gaining hands-on experience in arts management and non-profit leadership through promotion of diversity in education, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. Coming into a dance internship, I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of inequality throughout our communities, but my time spent with Hubbard Street opened up my world and made me realize how much I still have to learn.
Working at Hubbard Street Dance gave me a taste of the struggles non-profits face and the importance of cultivating strong community-based partnerships. I also learned the ground work for fundraising and event planning, which is what I have been doing for the past year at the Chicago Center!
Participating in the Communities and Culture seminar as a student was probably the most invaluable experience I received while in Chicago. Having the opportunity to be exposed to diverse urban neighborhoods forever changed the way I see and understand the world. Visiting the Southwest Youth Collaborative and meeting Camille Odeh is one experience that sticks out above the rest. Meeting the at risk youth at SWYC made me realize the pressure on urban adolescents and the need for organizations and activities that give youth an outlet to be creative, get help with school, talk to mentors and meet friends. Working with the youth at SWYC for my research topic, allowed me to personally interact with urban teens and gain a better understanding of how an activity like dance could keep youth involved and off the streets.
I enjoyed my time as a student at the Chicago Center so much that I decided to apply for the apprenticeship program. It was easy to fall in the love with the city and I really wanted to extend my time in Chicago. I was excited to be chosen as the Administrative and Special Events Coordinator for the 2009-2010 year, and was even more excited to learn that I would be helping plan the 40th Anniversary gala.
Staffing the student’s events is one of the best parts of the job, you continue to learn about the city and travel to hidden gems and neighborhoods that have so much culture and history. A big part of my position this past year has been managing the Fall and Spring Fundraisers. Donations and gifts play a big part in keeping a non-profit company running, and I was happy to manage two successful fundraisers, and hope to have laid the ground work for more successful fundraisers to come.
Aside from providing administrative support for office function and maintenance, along with organizing and updating the Chicago Center database, I have most enjoyed working with my supervisor, Althea Conyers, on planning the 40th Anniversary gala! Celebrating Chicago Center’s 40 years of service is a very exciting time, and I was proud to be a party of the planning committee. The 40th Anniversary celebration will be held on November 6, 2010 at Carnivale! After viewing several different locations to find a venue, I am absolutely positive that we have found the perfect place to celebrate the Chicago Center and bring together four decades of alumni! I cannot wait to celebrate the 40th Anniversary and meet so many of you whose lives have been enriched because of the Chicago Center!
I want to say thank you to the Chicago Center for giving me the opportunity to work in the city and extend my time in Chicago for another year. This experience has taught me so much about the different communities and cultures throughout Chicago, and the injustices in our society. My time here has far surpassed my expectations, and I know that I have grown into a better person because of the Chicago Center! A quote that has been heard several times this year perfectly wraps up my feeling about the Chicago Center.
I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand. -Confucius
Thank you for helping me understand. I still have so much to learn.”
We’d like to thank Whitney for telling us about her experience and letting us share it with our potential students and alumni!
July 14th, 2010
Chicago Center Alumni Jean Boen, May 2006, recently shared with us a speech she gave at her home college, Bluffton University. Jean writes:
“I found this reflection that I wrote to give as a speech at Bluffton University in 2006, after I returned back to campus after my experience at the Chicago Center for Urban Life & Culture in the South Side of Chicago. (At that point known as the Urban Life Center) The Chicago Center is a life changing experience that is located in Hyde Park. I was looking through a text book from college and this speech was folded up inside. Even though it’s not incredibly well written, reading over this now is so interesting. My experience at the Chicago Center really shaped who I am in just a few short weeks. It was like striking a match, which slowly…through life experiences since then, has turned into the fire that keeps me moving each day in my job. I’m forever grateful for the experience that was the catalyst to getting me where I am today. So here it is….
“Thou shalt not be a perpetrator; thou shalt not be a victim; and thou shalt never, but never, be a bystander.” This quote perfectly states what I learned from my cross cultural experience in Chicago. Throughout the years I’ve had many experiences that have forced me to rethink what I believe and be able to state why I believe in something. However, a few weeks after the experience, my passion begins to fade, my convictions become less and less noticeable to those around me, and soon I let what I learned become only a distant memory. I am proud to say this was not the case with my experiences with the Urban Life Center. I became so comfortable with my neighborhood that wrongly has the reputation for being dangerous and run down. This is best descried by an excerpt from my journal. I wrote this on the bus on the way back from the loop in downtown Chicago…
“After walking through the fair, overhearing many authors reading excerpts from their novels or poetry, after dodging many strollers and rollerbladers, as I walked by the booths, I began to find myself overwhelmed by the amount of people in the small area and decided to head back home. Home I call it, home it is beginning to feel like, the home I respect because of its diversity, it’s openness, it’s unique beauty, it’s culture, the home I call Hyde Park.”
The experience at the ULC has taught me to take my knowledge and do something with it. It’s not enough to know about injustice and feel sorry for those who are oppressed while facing what seem to be unsurpassable challenges. We have to realize what is going on in our world and do something about it. While listening to instructors, artists, and citizens talk about the issues that Chicago struggles with; I have learned that many of these issues reach outside the city limits. While I was hearing more and more about the extreme segregation here, I thought about the segregation at Bluffton. Why is this? Why are we comfortable with this? And why aren’t we doing anything about it? Why is it that cultural events at our University seem to have the least attendance out of any events on campus? Why is it that this cross cultural program is the only one I know of in which students continually interact with people from a city INSIDE the US? Why aren’t more of our cross cultural experiences under the supervision of other institutions like the ULC? Why are we simply taking professors out of the classroom setting to teach the exact same beliefs that they teach in the classroom? Are we not supposed to be exposed to anything different? Why does it seem that sometimes we are encouraging spoon feeding instead of giving students opportunities to see both sides of an issue and decide for themselves? I have struggled with many questions while on this trip. I can now say that when hearing racist jokes that yes, believe it or not, are still often stated on Bluffton’s campus… I won’t be afraid of speaking my mind and telling them how incredibly ignorant they are.
By spending time in Chicago I have learned that YES, we have freedom, but we do not have equality. I know now that we have much farther to go than most people think, and if our generation doesn’t do something, we will continue to sit at a stand still. I have learned to not be satisfied with where we are. I am committed to sharing what I have learned with others. I will do my best to point out the injustice that I see in my small corner of Ohio. I will not be a victim, I will not be a perpetrator, but most importantly…I WILL NOT BE A BYSTANDER.”
Some will say this was written by an idealistic college student? Yes….I know. But I still stand by it.”
After leaving Chicago and graduating from Bluffton University, Jean began a Housing Program in Wooster Ohio at a Social Service Agency, Liberty Center Connections. They house two smaller agencies, STEPS (a substance abuse and treatment facility) and Every Woman’s House (a domestic violence shelter, mental health counseling facility, and batterer’s intervention center). She began the “Liberty Center Connections Housing Initiative” in April of this year. Liberty Center Connections received the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) Grant for our County. Jean’s role as the program director is to develop awareness of the housing crisis in her area, develop case management models to help clients achieve housing stability, and work to achieve community partnerships and leverage resources.
“My May Term experience at the Chicago Center, even though it was short, made a definitive impact on my career path. In fact it was the catalyst to a complete career path change, to social work. I’m so thankful for everything I learned, and the tools Chicago Center gave me to develop a passion to inspire change. I left Chicago with a new outlook on the communities we are involved in. I truly don’t believe that I would be where I am now without my Chicago Center experience, and I certainly wouldn’t have the passion for my job without the knowledge and experiences that I gained through May Term.” – Jean Boen
July 13th, 2010
This week’s edition of the Hyde Park Herald showcased Chicago Center’s new student housing. Click the image to check out the article “Chicago Center raising digs dough” on the Hyde Park Herald Website, or read the article below!
Chicago Center raising digs dough
By DASCHELL M. PHILLIPS
Staff Writer
The Chicago Center has begun fundraising for its new Hyde Park student building.
The Chicago Center, which is a Hyde Park-based non-profit organization at 1515 E. 52nd Pl., offers programs that expose college students to city living and world cultures. The center has cooperative agreements with about 40 colleges to act as a host to students who want to study any subject in an urban area.
The center’s newly purchased student housing, which is located on the 1600 block of Hyde Park Boulevard near Kenwood Avenue, is a three-flat with five bedrooms on each floor, which has 3,300 square feet. Each floor can house up to eight students so the building can hold up to 30 students total. The property also has a garden level where a study, recreation and laundry room will be added
Each residential floor is named after the center’s principal founders Don and Unice Shatz, Phyllis Cunningham and Jim Bertucci. The center is planning to make plaques with the founder’s names for each floor.
Scott Chesebro, executive director of the program, said the center once owned a building at 5004 S. Blackstone Ave., but sold it in 1992 “because it was too small for the program’s purposes.”
Although the program went on to rent several apartment units in the neighborhood, Chesebro said that they always intended to purchase another housing unit, so when the center’s real estate agent called to tell them about the property, which once served as housing for students of the Zavarian religious order, they moved quickly, purchasing the property on Dec. 21, 2009, and moving in on Jan. 5, 2010.
“This building represents more than a building – it’s how our students relate to one another and community,” said Althea Conyers, marketing and public relations director at the center. “The students will learn what it means to live as a community.”
Chesebro said with all the students living in one building they won’t feel isolated and the center will have an easier time dealing with issues of safety and maintenance.
“Since most of the students come from rural areas their colleges and parents will feel better knowing they are together in a central place,” Chesebro said.
Conyers said weekly student staff meetings and other workshops also help students feel secure and gain confidence in their areas of study.
Kevin Renderman, who completed his urban teaching practicum at Kenwood Academy in April, was a part of the first group of students to live in the new student housing property. He said he enjoyed the level of support he received. He was especially grateful for the education seminars and other professional and lifestyle support classes given through the center.
“In the [education seminar] class we would just talk about our week and our experiences and when problems arise we would talk them out and get advice and lesson plan ideas from each other,” Renderman said.
Shortly after the property was purchased, the center received a $200,000 loan from the Illinois Facilities Fund for remodeling. Now the center is reaching out to alumni and friends to make donations toward maintaining the property.
Donators can sponsor the upkeep of a room for $1,000 or have their names inscribed in bricks for the garden for $200.
The Chicago Center is gearing up for a weeklong celebration of its 40th anniversary in November. In addition to the purchase of the student housing property, the organization has a new logo and Web site.
For more information about the Chicago Center, call 1-800-747-6059 or 773-363-1312 or email info@chicagocenter.org.
June 25th, 2010
Kevin Zabel, Academic Program Coordinator
The Urban Apprenticeship is an exciting opportunity we offer Chicago Center alumni that have just graduated college. More than a job, it offers opportunities for learning and skill development in a supportive urban learning community.
The apprenticeship started in 1990 and grew out of the mutual interests of Chicago Center alums to prolong their contact with Chicago Center and the Center’s interest in strengthening its staff and program. It has exceeded expectations in both arenas and has become a great strength of Chicago Center. The Urban Apprentice usually spends one full year in residence at Chicago Center. This month Kevin Zabel, Academic Program Coordinator talks about his experience with Chicago Center:
“For the past ten months, I have had the privilege to work at the Chicago Center as the Academic Program Coordinator. At the Chicago Center, we have three student tracks: Urban Teaching, Social Work, and Academic. Our students utilize our program for a host of reasons, of which a few most popular are opportunities to fulfill college requirements (e.g., student teaching placement, social work field work placement, or academic internship) in an urban environment, the diversity of Chicago, the opportunity to live independently in an urban environment, and the staff support that we provide our students. As class assistant to our academic, student teaching, and social work programs, I have come to better understand the inner workings of the various tracks, as well as the first-voice method of learning our program utilizes. By first-voice, I mean that instead of our student teachers reading about teaching strategies for urban classrooms, or our academic students reading about different communities and cultures in a textbook, our students get the opportunity to engage directly with our learning resources and individuals. For example, recently, our student teachers met directly with Greg Michie, an author and educator who has written several books on urban education techniques. Moreover, as academic class assistant, I have scheduled such events as a meeting with representatives from the Center on Halsted (LGBT center on the north side of Chicago), a mural tour of the Pilsen (predominantly Mexican and Mexican-American) community in Chicago, and immigration discussions with Korean American Resource & Community Center and Latino Organization of the Southwest representatives, as well as attended such events as the Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, and Puerto Rican Day Parade with students. These events and meetings are just a few of the resources and events we typically utilize throughout our terms.
I attended the Chicago Center as a student during my Fall 2007 semester at Albion College. I grew up in a small, rural community and attended college in a very similar environment. As a result, I attended the Chicago Center in large part to experience living in an urban setting for the first time, but also for the wide range of internship possibilities that the Chicago Center provides. While these expectations were met, I found my experience to be so much more than the conventional reasons that students often choose to study off campus. Using public transportation and a sense of taking ownership of my internship were fostered by the Chicago Center, and provided skills that continue to benefit me to this day (e.g., comfort with navigating in a city environment, interview and networking skills). At the same time, through the class component of the experience, I was introduced to communities and cultures in Chicago that I never (or rarely) had the opportunity to interact with growing up or on my college campus. These experiences encouraged me to reevaluate my beliefs and opinions about different groups of people, and gave me a foundation with which to question the “truth” I had known growing up.
In addition to the class component of the program, I also interned at Merrill Lynch. I entered the program as a business and psychology double major, planning on a career as a financial advisor. Although I enjoyed the work provided me during my internship, I became disenchanted by the amount of salesmanship necessary to succeed as a financial advisor. The internship provided me an opportunity to engage one-on-one with professionals that had worked for years in the business, in some cases working at Merrill Lynch for over forty years. Their knowledge, as well as the opportunity to learn from their stories and experiences, persuaded me to focus exclusively on my psychology major field of study upon my return to school.
Upon graduation, I knew that I wanted to take a year off from school and get work experience. The Chicago Center apprenticeship provided the perfect opportunity to extend upon my experience as a student, while simultaneously honing valuable organizational skills and communication workplace skills that will aid significantly in my future work endeavors. In Fall 2010, I will begin graduate study in the social psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville. Working with our students as class assistant, as well as working with fellow staff members and class resources has provided me invaluable experience that will aid in my future research and teaching endeavors. In addition, the events and discussions I have been privy to both as a student and class assistant have forever affected the ways in which I form opinions about issues or groups of people. I feel privileged to work for an organization and with staff whom I respect very much, and I look forward to the new challenges that graduate school will bring. It is my hope that in addition to my fellow incoming Fall 2010 UT classmates, I can bring a fresh perspective to research and learning. Through my experiences as a student and as an apprentice, the Chicago Center has prepared me exceptionally well to accomplish this goal.”
We’d like to thank Kevin for telling us about his experience and letting us share it with our potential students and alumni!
May 14th, 2010
This week’s edition of the Hyde Park Herald showcased Chicago Center Student, Kevin Renderman. Kevin is from Millikin University, he participated in Chicago Center’s Urban Teaching Practicum during the Spring 10 semester and student taught at Kenwood Academy in Hyde Park. Click the image to check out the article “Student as Teacher” on the Hyde Park Herald Website, or read the article below!
Student as Teacher
Chicago Center student taught at Kenwood
By DACHELL M. PHILLIPS
Staff Writer
Although Kevin Renderman is a Chicago native he never traveled too far outside of his tight-knit Irish Catholic neighborhood of Mount Greenwood until it was time for him to attend Millikin University, an undergraduate, Presbyterian institution in Decatur, Ill. Once he decided he was interested in teaching in the city, Renderman found the Chicago Center for Urban Life & Culture’s Urban Teaching Practicum as a great help.
Renderman said he decided he wanted to become a math teacher his junior year at Marist High School, but once he got into college he changed his mind and began to pursue a degree in physical education because he “didn’t want to be stuck in the classroom eight hours a day.”
Faced with the choice to student teach in Decatur or Chicago Renderman chose Chicago and said although he is a native he has learned so much more about his hometown through participating in the Chicago Center Urban Teaching Practicum.
The Chicago Center, which is a Hyde Park-based non-profit, offers programs that expose college students to city living and world cultures. The center has cooperative agreements with about 40 colleges to act as a host to students who want to study any subject in an urban area.
“The center’s experiential learning philosophy, which allows students to learn through first-person experience, is what attracts many of the students to its programs,” said Althea Conyers, marketing and public relations director at Chicago Center. “Unlike most higher education institutions in Chicago, the students who attend are encouraged to live, work and study in all part of the city.”
Renderman, who started the program Jan. 5, said he saw parts of Chicago he’d never been to before and learned about Chicago’s architectural history.
Renderman was also part of the first group of students to live in the Chicago Center’s newly purchased student housing. The new building, which is located on Kenwood Avenue and Hyde Park Boulevard, is a three-flat that can house up to 30 students. The program formerly had long-term leases on several apartments in the neighborhood. Renderman lived in one of the units with seven roommates.
Renderman said that he’s enjoyed the level of support he has received during his time here.
“I heard a lot of bad things about [Chicago Public Schools],” Renderman said. “When I told people I was coming here they would say, ‘Oh sorry,’ but I have not had any problems.”
On Jan. 11 Renderman started teaching three 7th through 8th grade PE classes and two health classes at the Kenwood Academy, 5015 S. Blackstone Ave. He was also the assistant coach for the freshman basketball team.
He said that Kenwood teachers were great mentors and that principal Elizabeth Kirby and assistant principal David Barain were great influences.
He said the Chicago Center’s weekly education seminar with Nancy Friesen has also provided a great deal of support.
“[Friesen] has been a teacher for over 25 years and is a great mentor,” Renderman said. “In the class we would just talk about our week and our experiences and when problems arise we would talk them out and get advice and lesson plan ideas from each other. “
After completing the Urban Teaching Practicum on April 30, Renderman returned to Millikin to prepare for graduation on May 16. He said that he is considering teaching in Boston for a short time but after that, becoming a CPS teacher on a permanent basis is definitely a goal for him.
The Chicago Center is gearing up for a weeklong celebration of its 40th anniversary in November. In addition to the purchase of student housing, the organization has a new logo and Web site. For more information about the Chicago Center, call 1-800-747-6059 or e-mail info@chicagocenter.org.
d.phillips@hpherald.com
May 5th, 2010
Amy VanBecelaere, Housing Coordinator
The Urban Apprenticeship is an exciting opportunity we offer Chicago Center alumni that have just graduated college. More than a job it offers opportunities for learning and skill development in a supportive urban learning community.
The apprenticeship started in 1990 and grew out of the mutual interests of Chicago Center alums to prolong their contact with Chicago Center and the Center’s interest in strengthening its staff and program. It has exceeded expectations in both arenas and has become a great strength of Chicago Center. The Urban Apprentice usually spends one full year in residence at Chicago Center. This month Amy VanBecelaere, Housing Coordinator talks about her experience with Chicago Center:
“My name is Amy VanBecelaere, and I am the current Housing Coordinator for The Chicago Center. I am a graduate of Adrian College where I received my B.A. in Psychology with minors in both Women’s Studies and Theatre (with a dance emphasis). Growing up in Metro Detroit (St. Clair Shores) with a lifelong interest in the performing arts, I had always known that I wanted to be connected to and a part of a big city, but I had little idea of how my heart would get there.
Through my undergraduate work at Adrian, I began to discover my own unique interests and life goals. I realized there that I had both a deep internal passion for dance and psychology; however I was having some trouble figuring out how to combine these interests in a concrete way. Soon enough, I was focusing my energy into the field of Dance Movement Therapy but still had little direction on how to gain any kind of experience in the field due to lack of resources of this kind in Michigan.
The Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture entered my life at exactly the right time. Just looking through the brochure and seeing pictures of incredible mural work, African women dancing with such a glowing energy, and the general idea of living in a major city and center for culture; I knew I could find what I was looking for there. I saved all of my money for two summers and finally became a Chicago Center student in the Summer of 2008.
As I expected, Chicago as a city was bursting with possibilities. I ended up choosing an internship placement with Chicago’s only African-American modern dance company; Deeply Rooted Productions. Unlike most professional dance companies I had worked with before, Deeply Rooted had a unique focus on self-actualization through movement. Dancers (including myself) engaged in a continuum process where they grew not only as performers but as fully-functioning self-aware people as well. The Chicago Center helped me find a place where I could really develop and combine my interests in Dance and Psychology. However, my learning certainly was not limited to my internship.
The Chicago Center exposed me to so many different communities and cultures that I had never considered before. I grew immensely by interacting with community leaders, residents, performers and active citizens of Chicago. The Center really opened my mind and heart to new experiences and voices. I had always considered myself a culturally-aware, educated and open-minded person but I can say that I never truly understood what that was until I became a student at Chicago Center. I don’t know that I would have ever imagined myself, as a suburban grown white woman on stage dancing traditional African dance in full Kente cloth singing a West African Call entitled “Reza Agambani” (Feast of the Strong One), but that is where my experience took me. I returned to my campus with an experience unlike any of my classmates, I had a new found confidence in my opinions and knowledge of what it was to live in an urban environment. My professors and colleagues recognized a change in the way I interacted in the classroom and beyond. I now knew what I believed about city life because I had lived it but most importantly, I had a clear understanding of who I was as a person.
I knew that after my summer in Chicago, I would undoubtedly return to the city that became my new home and love. I also knew that only the Chicago Center could really help me truly understand what it was to be a Chicagoan. I wanted to be a part of future student’s experiences and help them find their way in the city the way I did!
As an apprentice for the Chicago Center, I am at forefront of encouraging and supporting each students own unique and fantastic experience in the city. I am grateful for the opportunity to hear stories and experiences from the students each week in my housing meetings. It is there that I also address concerns and maintenance issues. I love being able to provide support and make things easier for students as they are being challenged to grow and think in new ways in the City; it is what makes my job at the center so incredibly rewarding.
This year, my position as the housing coordinator has changed a lot. We now own our own building for student housing which we fondly call “The Boulevard”. I have been at the forefront of the transition between our old housing (renting at different units in Hyde Park) to a new building where we have really been in control and responsible for everything that happens within our own housing. After scheduling a tremendous amount of movers, cleaners and workers in all different ways (lots of support from Chicago Center staff) the building is finally finished! My crew and I were in charge of setting up the flats for students to live in for the first time in January and it appears to be a huge success. The students love our new facility and I am so proud to have played such a major role in putting things together. The whole center has spent so much time, effort and work into our new building and I think that it definitely shows.
Now that the biggest job is done, I am responsible for the maintenance and order of the building. I also prepare housing for incoming students each semester as well as our short term LC! Programs. I try to be a resource for students in any way I can, and I am extremely blessed to be part of such an incredible program that is working to expand the minds of students and faculty across the country. I only have a few short months left with the Chicago Center, and I will cherish them forever I am sure. I am currently interested in looking for a job in a social service setting and am actively looking for opportunities to use my dance/theatre experience to help people in any way I can. Come August, I will be attending graduate school at Columbia College Chicago and will earn my masters degree in Dance/Movement Therapy and Mental Health Counseling in the next few years. I know that my time and experiences here at The Chicago Center have without doubt helped me accomplish that goal and will continue to influence and inspire any goals I set for the future!”
We’d like to thank Amy for telling us about her experience and letting us share it with our potential students and alumni!
March 23rd, 2010
Steve Broadwell, Recruitment Coordinator
The Urban Apprenticeship is an exciting opportunity we offer Chicago Center alumni that have just graduated college. More than a job it offers opportunities for learning and skill development in a supportive urban learning community.
The apprenticeship started in 1990 and grew out of the mutual interests of Chicago Center alums to prolong their contact with Chicago Center and the Center’s interest in strengthening its staff and program. It has exceeded expectations in both arenas and has become a great strength of Chicago Center. The Urban Apprentice usually spends one full year in residence at Chicago Center. This month Steve Broadwell, Recruitment Coordinator talks about his experience with Chicago Center: Read More
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March 5th, 2010
Out of His Comfort Zone
TR native gets taste of big city life by student teaching in Chicago
By Cindy Hodgson • Herald Times Reporter • March 2, 2010
Josh LeGreve, back right, long-term substitute Spanish teacher in the Mishicot School District, helps students set up their personal accounts on the Edmodo Web site so they can converse with Justin Gerlach's English students in Argentina. LeGreve is filling in for Gerlach, who took a leave of absence from teaching in Mishicot to teach English to Spanish-speaking students in Argentina. He is helping, from left, sophomores Jacob LeFleur, Nathan Krcma and Andrew Schwerma. In the background is senior Kiyanna Faulks. (Sue Pischke/HTR)
MISHICOT — When it came time to do his student teaching, Two Rivers native Josh LeGreve decided not to go the usual route.
LeGreve, 23, said most of his fellow students at Ripon College choose to student teach at a nearby school, such as in Ripon, Oshkosh or Fond du Lac.
“I wanted to move out of my comfort zone,” he said. “I wanted to push myself as a teacher.”
LeGreve decided to do his student teaching in Chicago through a partnership Ripon College has with the Chicago Center for Urban Life & Culture. Read More
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February 16th, 2010
Michelle Bess, LearnChicago! Coordinator
The Urban Apprenticeship is an exciting opportunity we offer Chicago Center alumni that have just graduated college. More than a job it offers opportunities for learning and skill development in a supportive urban learning community.
The apprenticeship started in 1990 and grew out of the mutual interests of Chicago Center alums to prolong their contact with Chicago Center and the Center’s interest in strengthening its staff and program. It has exceeded expectations in both arenas and has become a great strength of Chicago Center. The Urban Apprentice usually spends one full year in residence at Chicago Center. This month Michelle Bess, LearnChicago! Coordinator talks about her experience with Chicago Center. Read More
December 14th, 2009
Emilie Lewandowski, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator
The Urban Apprenticeship is an exciting opportunity we offer Chicago Center alumni that have just graduated college. More than a job it offers opportunities for learning and skill development in a supportive urban learning community.
The apprenticeship started in 1990 and grew out of the mutual interests of Chicago Center alums to prolong their contact with Chicago Center and the Center’s interest in strengthening its staff and program. It has exceeded expectations in both arenas and has become a great strength of Chicago Center. The Urban Apprentice usually spends one full year in residence at Chicago Center. This month Emilie Lewandowski, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator talks about her experience with Chicago Center.
“Hi! I’m Emilie, one of the current apprentices at Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture. I graduated in May from Eastern Michigan University, with an undergraduate degree in Psychology. I am originally from Lexington, Michigan, a very small town on Lake Huron. It has been an exciting road that has led me to where I am today – Chicago!
In the summer of 2008, I attended Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture as an Urban Academic Student. During that time, I had an internship at Apna Ghar Inc., a domestic violence agency focused on serving the South Asian population in Chicago. I chose this internship because it offered me an experience I could not get in my home town. In my time at Apna Ghar, I learned how non-profit organizations operate and the obstacles that they face. I learned how to work and communicate effectively as minority. I also realized a lot about the injustices in our society, and how much I wanted to be a part of fixing that. Working at Apna Ghar provided me with invaluable experiences for my future, and it also helped me focus on finding direction in my own life. Read More
