Share this
Gateway Scholar received funding to help cover her credit-class tuition as she studied child development.
Once Latoya Harris-Pickens earned her GED, she was going to end her education there. The mom of four’s goal had been just to finish her high school education after the home health care company she worked for downsized. Then, a teacher at Kennedy-King College’s Dawson Technical Institute where she had been taking GED prep classes convinced her to try a few college-level courses – just to see if she liked it.
And she did. As a Gateway Scholar, Latoya received scholarships to help cover her credit class tuition as she studied child development.
“I’ve always been passionate about taking care of people – I just made the switch from working with seniors to working with children,” she said.
Now with a job in at a child care center, Latoya has no plans to stop. Once she graduates in December 2020, she plans to continue on to pursue her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education.
She is also setting an example for her children – one of whom will be starting classes at Kennedy-King College soon.
I attended Lane Tech High School where I received generalized support from peers and counselors. However, this did not eliminate the inherent anxieties that stemmed from being a first-generation and low-income Latina navigating higher education for the first time.
Through the Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship, Charlene Macklin enhanced her skillset in the early learning space at no cost.
Samantha Luce, the District Director of Violence Prevention and Response at City Colleges of Chicago, has dedicated the last three and a half years to helping students navigate challenging experiences while advancing her own education and career.
When Silvia Garcia arrived in Chicago from Mexico in 1998, she wanted to learn English. After receiving a flyer Daley College sent out, she decided Daley would be the place to learn a new language.
