Timely fair helps first-generation college students (Video & Photos)

Over 200 local students received valuable and timely information at Senator Mattie Hunter and Rep. Sonya Harper’s college fair at VanderCook College of Music. Saturday’s fair could not have arrived any sooner for one graduating senior.

Meet Ronnesha Whitfield, an Ombudsman High School senior, who is graduating in three weeks.

“I didn’t expect for it to be this awesome and amazing to get information from the colleges,” said Whitfield. “People are not informed that much. They might hear about a college from other people but they don’t know much more until they meet recruiters.”

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Warm clothes, hot meals for Englewood residents in need

CHICAGO – Residents in need of hot meals and warm clothes can join LaTanya & The Youth of Englewood this Nov. 21 for a free pre-Thanksgiving dinner.

 “I would love to see residents working together, looking out for each other, as well as our children,” said LaTanya Johnson, the nonprofit’s founder. “Englewood has been lacking jobs, resources and the necessary motivation to stay strong as a community. I felt like I needed to do something to help our less fortunate.”

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UPDATED: Senator Hunter hosts free College Fair

State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-3, Chicago) will host a free college fair on Friday, November 20 at the VanderCook College of Music. Representatives from over 30 institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities will be in attendance.

“We’re helping connect talented students with the opportunities they need. We’re also giving recruiters access to Chicago’s brightest youth,” said Hunter.

The event is open to high school teens, parents and adults seeking higher education opportunities. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission,  State Representative Sonya Harper, State Representative Ken Dunkin and VanderCook College of Music-sponsored event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon.

Attendees are encouraged to bring resumes and prepare questions for college recruiters.

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College students descend on Capitol (video)

Concerned students from across the state descended on the Capitol today in support of critical funding for MAP grants and higher educational institutions.

With the state in its fourth month without a budget agreement, many students are worried they will not be able to attend school next semester without the assistance of their MAP grant. 

Paris Griffin, a senior from the South Side of Chicago who attends Chicago State University, receives financial aid through the MAP grant program. She joined her peers in advocating for a budget agreement that would fund the MAP program and provide a higher education budget for the state.

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