QUIST MIDDLE SCHOOL
For as long as Mariah Verdeal can remember, she’s wanted to be a teacher. Growing up, she had a great experience at 27J Schools…

PRAIRIE VIEW HIGH
It was May 31, 2013. Gabriel Hake had just graduated from Prairie View High School and was planning to attend…

THIMMIG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Over a decade after attending Thimmig Elementary School, Jasmeet Bajwa was riding on a roller coaster with her sister when she…

WEST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Like a lot of kids, when Blake Bushlack was a little boy, he was enthralled with blocks, pieces that moved…

HENDERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Communities play an important role in people’s lives. They create a sense of belonging and interpersonal connections with others.

TURNBERRY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
It’s true. As humans, we tend to find connections in music to memories. Music can bring back memories of places, emotions…

REUNION ELEMENTARY
When Reunion Elementary School opened its doors to students in 2017, Stacy Fallik, a parent at the school, knew she wanted to…

RIVERDALE RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL
In 2018 when Alex Cimino started her sophomore year at Riverdale Ridge High School, she was one of the first students to…

VIKAN MIDDLE SCHOOL
After having a routine eye screening at her elementary school, Yessica Cañas was told she needed specialty lenses in her glasses.

STUART MIDDLE SCHOOL
When Bailee Abke graduated from nursing school in the middle of a pandemic in May of 2020, she was overwhelmed…

BRANTNER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
When Auriana Roos recalls her time at Brantner Elementary School, she remembers always feeling welcomed and included at the school.

PENNOCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
From a young age, Caden Pratt had a fascination for building things. This rooted from seeing his dad and grandpa constantly…

INNOVATIONS AND OPTIONS
Zachary Kittleson grew up in a home where money was tight, but so were family bonds. Having a small household budget didn’t mean…

SOUTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Everyone that knew Stacy Valadez as a young child could see she was a very determined girl. When she made her mind up on…

Brighton High School graduate and ABC7 Chicago news anchor and reporter Stacey Baca attributes her success to the counsel from her parents and teachers

BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL
Even at a young age, David Diaz found great satisfaction in helping people. No matter if they were family, friends, neighbors or…

PADILLA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Over the past eight years, when Debbie Tafoya’s out in the community running daily errands, she seems to run into students she…

SECOND CREEK ELEMENTARY
When Sydney McKinney started school at Second Creek Elementary School, the school had just opened its doors to students…

SOUTHEAST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Even as a young student at Southeast Elementary, Adrianna Torres had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Whether it was…

NORTHEAST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Zach Polliard was finishing up his senior year of high school at Brighton High School in 2015 when he received the news…

OVERLAND TRAIL MIDDLE SCHOOL
As a child, Jorge Gonzalez had to learn how to cope with being separated from his father for many months each year because…

PRAIRIE VIEW
MIDDLE SCHOOL
When Christopher Salcido was a student at Prairie View Middle School, he discovered…