Jacqueline Urquizo
For Jacqueline Urquizo, Daley College feels like home. She took Early College classes at Daley in high school, earned her associate in arts from the college, and now, she’s back as an employee.
Edgar Gonzalez Balcarcel came to Chicago from Guatemala in 2007 without knowing English. He found Wilbur Wright College, and the rest is history.
Edgar began his time at City Colleges as a student. Now, he’s giving back to the City Colleges community as an adult education transition specialist. Edgar’s job allows him to help people who have recently migrated to the United States in the same way that someone helped him in the past. He helps students improve their English or earn their high school diplomas and then move on to their next steps.
“They feel that I’m one of them, and they know it’s possible to make it happen,” Edgar said. “They see me as an example that City Colleges works.”
For all his contributions to City Colleges, Edgar was named a 2024 City Colleges of Chicago Luminary recipient.
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