Daley College Adult Education Instructor Wins 2024 Chicago Silver Dome Award

Daley College English as a Second Language (ESL) and Digital Literacy instructor Margaret Larkin is now the winner of the prestigious 2024 Chicago Silver Dome Award by the Illinois Broadcasters Association. Margaret has been teaching part-time for 18 years at Daley and Daley’s satellite campus, Arturo Velasquez Institute.

“I love the southwest side,” she said. “I love the people I work with. I like helping people.”

Margaret’s work at City Colleges and winning this award are deeply connected. Because of Margaret’s connection to the southwest side, she clicked with the subject of her story, Prime Tacos owner Anthony Solis. This led to her creating the award-winning “‘Hard times don’t last forever’ – Prime Tacos owner on how family has affected his life,” one of four Hispanic Heritage Month stories Margaret worked on. This story is one of tragedy and triumph focused on Anthony’s family history and why he and his brother began their restaurant.

“[Winning this award] means a lot because I worked in media for 17 years. I’ve been online for 30 years. To win an award for a digital piece is confirmation I’ve done well. It’s linked to my teaching experiences at City Colleges as well. I had already learned so much about Hispanic culture through my students at City Colleges. I was able to relate. It all came together.”

Margaret is proud of this opportunity to capture a positive story on the south side but realizes, there are plenty more that need to be told.

“The south side gets a bad rap,” she said. “There are a lot of positive stories like this on the south side. There are a lot stories of people who have persevered and they’re very grateful for it.”

Margaret won her Chicago Silver Dome Award in the”Best Radio Station Use of Non-Broadcast Media”category for her work with WGN-AM Radio. The Silver Dome Awards, named after the dome of the Illinois State Capitol, celebrate the “Best of the Best” in Illinois broadcasting.

Margaret is a writer, podcaster, livestreamer, and interviewer. She joins a distinguished group of City Colleges instructors whose excellence has been celebrated in diverse fields such as astronomy, healthcare, music, podcasting, STEM, and more. Margaret is a true example of the impact that City Colleges instructors can have both in the classroom and the city of Chicago.