Don't Be Self Conchas

I never would have thought that I would want to be a social entrepreneur, ever in my life. I grew up thinking that working for a business only meant that you would have to be stuck in a suit and tie, running from meeting to meeting through downtown's many buildings, on a 9am-5pm schedule. I was very stubborn in my first days of my Social Entrepreneurship & You course because I was not particularly interested about that side of business. However, my perception of business changed when I gave this course a chance. I was surprised to discover through class discussion that...

Business is everywhere.

Business is the tamale lady standing on the corner, hustling to sell more than her competitor across the street.
Business is negotiating the price of a house you want to buy off of a seller.
Business is trading your bag of chips for a classmate's stack of Oreos.

We partake in business everywhere we go, though we don't realize it. Though I was fascinated by that idea, I was more intrigued that business can be used for social good, aka social entrepreneurship. I learned about key concepts of social entrepreneurship, identifying social issues, different types of investors, and how to create a business plan.

I've been in charge of my own jewelry business since last April. I haven't had the chance to sit down and create a detailed business plan about it, so I took advantage of the time given to do this Action Project to focus on my business.

It was very difficult to delve into my business and nitpick something I am very passionate about, and discover why I am so passionate about it. I am beyond proud of my finished work. I hope I am able to find an angel investor soon to take my business to the next level, thanks to taking this class.

Ali, Tanveer. “Hispanics Pass Blacks As Chicago's 2nd Largest Racial, Ethnic Group: Census.” DNAinfo Chicago, DNAinfo Chicago, 15 Sept. 2017, www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170914/near-west-side/census-white-black-hispanic-majority-minority-race-ethnicity-population-change-2016-2017-decline/.

Bloom, Mina. “City's Latino Neighborhoods: Population Up, Challenges Persist, Report Says.” DNAinfo Chicago, DNAinfo Chicago, 13 Oct. 2017, www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20171011/logan-square/uic-report-latino-neighborhoods-report-latino-population-growth-chicago/.

Duncan, Eric. “Topic: Jewelry Market Worldwide.” Www.statista.com, www.statista.com/topics/5163/jewelry-market-worldwide/.

Bring in the Light

What does equality and success for minorities look like?

Minorities have always been successful, but they aren’t fully represented in the media. People with diversities often times aren’t given the place to use their voice because they live in such a unequal world.

I have decided for my first Action Project for my course, “Equality”, to look into a success story of a minority and give diverse person a space to use their voice on the story I researched about. I chose to look into Lori Lightfoot’s story because she has changed what a mayor can look like in Chicago. I have been following her story since I started working on her campaign. I enjoyed having fun with the format and making my report look like a history textbook. I found out that I have a knack for graphic design and color coordination through making my mini textbook booklet.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-candidates-for-chicago-mayor-htmlstory.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/02/chicago-lori-lightfoot-elected-first-black-female-mayor

https://chicagoelections.com/dm/SummaryReport.pdf?v=1552063866079

https//www.citylab.com/equity/2018/09/how-rahm-emanuel-blew-it-on-police-reform/569323/

Diversity is Unity

What is our place in the career world?

This is a question that has been in the back of my mind during the month of January- the first half of the Social Entrepreneurship & You course. My class and I have been focusing on what our personality traits are, how our traits can affect our role in the classroom and relationships, and how we can better achieve SMART goals to build on our weaknesses. I had a lot of fun learning about my personality traits and consciously observing myself throughout my day-to-day life. In my Action Project for this half of the class, I had to pick an aspect of the school and start thinking like a consultant by composing a solution on how the school operates. I chose to focus on diversity and inclusion in GCE, and how it plays a part in student’s learning and behavior, and implement a plan to celebrate diversity and inclusivity in GCE.

Diversity is important in school environments for a number of reasons. A diverse school fosters a sense of empathy and awareness, welcomes open-mindedness, allows students to feel unique but also part of a group, and prepares students for a diverse workplace.

One of GCE’s great values is diversity. Among the 60 students and faculty members of GCE , we represent 43 of the 77 neighborhoods in Chicago. Although our neighborhoods are segregated, we convene as a community of different races, sexualities, economic backgrounds, and ideologies.

Just read this quote by KC, a faculty member at GCE for about 10 years.

“In terms of student body, it has been very diverse. We have from African Americans to Africans, from Latinas to Latinos, to various European students, and a lot of people of mixed heritage. We even have people from various sexual orientations. So, in terms of student body, I think we have been on it.”

Strengths of GCE’s Support for Diverse Students
GCE’s admissions process is very inclusive for people from all different backgrounds. GCE provides nearly full-ride tuition for low-income students. The Director of Admissions at GCE, SB, pointed out GCE’s financial diversity when I interviewed her.

SB: “I want to make sure when we are curating a class, that we are being conscious of having students from many different financial backgrounds, because that in itself is a lesson for everyone. How do we understand and navigate economic class? It’s important for me to have a representation of that.

There certain different classifications. There’s need-blind and there’s need-aware. Need-blind means that I don’t care what your financial situation is, I will admit you based entirely on how you are as an individual person. That is how I go into the first review. And then, because we need to be conscious of that, so that we do maintain that financial diversity, so that we have students from all across the board, I don’t make my first decisions in a financial space. But, financials do inform my holistic decision.”

The Commons of this Financial Aid pool is first come, first serve. Full-ride packages are given to those students who qualify and finish their financial aid application by the deadline. The amount of financial aid that GCE offers varies every year, but they try their best to accommodate every student that is admitted.

GCE meets student’s physiological needs by not charging for lunch. This encourages diversity because everyone has a chance to eat, no matter what their economic background is. I am personally grateful for this program because I know there is something always to eat.

GCE provides self-actualization through their Field Experience program. By visiting companies with POC in charge, GCE sets dreams for their students because they see someone that looks like them on a higher pedestal. When my class talked to black judges from the south side, talked to a black CEO of his own company, visited an author off the 79th Red Line, and interviewed a Hispanic man running for alderman, it changed my class’ perception of what success looks like. Black and brown people have always been successful, but are not as displayed in mainstream society.

Weaknesses of GCE’s Support for Diverse Students
The majority of GCE’s faculty consists of heterosexual, white people. There is only one African-American teacher and one Asian teacher on staff. Two sophomores at GCE, ES and DC, explained their thoughts on a more diverse staff.

ES: “The one person that makes me feel safe and welcomed at this school is Sharon, because she acts like my black mom. She reminds me of my mom all the time. Second, she’s open to my sexuality. Having more teachers of color would provide more different opinions about the reality of the world, instead of hearing the same generic opinions.”

DC: “Kim was the one who made me feel most welcome because she reminds me a lot of my Grandma. She makes me feel like I’m at home. People will get the same experience like I have with Kim and what ES has with Sharon, you’re gonna feel at home, you’re gonna feel like you recognize someone that looks like you, at least.”

Opportunity for GCE’s Growth of Support for Diverse Students:

GCE could promote this sense of safety by hiring more teachers of color so that students could let their guard down. As ES and DC stated, they feel more welcomed and safe with just seeing someone that looks like them and shares the same mannerisms.

Threats of GCE’s Support for Diverse Students
Since GCE has been in the north side of Chicago for the past ten years, it isn’t accessible for people of color that live in the south and west sides of Chicago. GCE was presented with the opportunity last year to move downtown, where the school would be accessible to the other sides of the city. Once GCE opens its new doors downtown next school year, I am sure that they will recruit an abundance of qualified, diverse students because it will be more accessible. 

As a student in the GCE community, I believe that I can use my strengths to an advantage by making our community more inclusive of our diverse students.

According to the Myer’s-Brigg’s personality test, I am an ENFJ personality type, meaning that I encapsulate:

Extroversion: I am energized by socializing, solving problems through discussion, open and willing to share about my thoughts, and often described as friendly and approachable.

Intuition: I notice the big picture first, and then try to see how everything connects. I imagine the possibilities of how things could be, instead of focusing on the reality of how things are.

Feeling: I make decisions based on what my heart feels, more than what my brain thinks.

Judgement: I like to express my opinions, need to feel in control, and undertake one job at a time before moving onto another.

I also took the DiSC Personality Test. The test results stated that “You (I) have a strong self-motivation to get to know people in all walks of life and to nurture those relationships. You (I) have a natural enthusiasm for all types of ideas and projects- your own and other people’s. People are likely to describe you (me) as gregarious, persuasive, and optimistic. “

Overall, the results of my personality tests say that I am a natural leader, because I am outgoing, optimistic, and motivated. However, my weaknesses are that I depend on social interaction to keep my positive energy going. My feelings and emotions control me more than I control them. I become eager to please others, instead of focusing on my own goals and personal happiness.

As a South Chicagoan, Mexican, queer, low-income student at GCE, I find that I should make a safe space for POC. To promote and focus on Esteem and Love/Belonging, I can create socialization spaces for new students in my Gamer Club and for Hispanic Spanish-speaking students at lunch.

Last year, Gamer Club only had 2 people. I decided at my school’s camping trip orientation to especially welcome new students this year, as a rising senior. When talking to the new students during the first couple weeks of school, I noticed that they all liked something in common: gaming and memes. I decided to reboot Gamer Club this year, with crossed fingers that these new students would join. At the first meeting, all of the new students played Super Smash Bros together, creating the biggest club at GCE.

Gamer Club has become a bigger thing than just playing video games. It’s a place for people of color to act like their true selves, without the worry of being judged. There are people of different nationalities, sexualities , genders, and they are from all over the city. It is really cool seeing all of the new students bond with each other. We respect each other’s levels of gaming and praise each other’s wins and tough loses.

As part of this formed friend group through Gamer Club, I have noticed that we are still on the first layer of friendship, which is getting to know each other. Because our minds are not focused on getting to know one another but instead on current memes and jokes, I want to make a space in gaming club for everyone to get to know each other further than the first layer.

I will start each club meeting with a Rose and Thorn activity, providing a space for club members to talk about good, tough, or funny moments they have experienced currently. Other club members can start to be more conscious of their interaction with each other, while also getting to know each other. After a couple club meetings with this activity, it will become a routine to build a safer and belonging space. I will serve as a participant of the activity, a motivator for members to participate, and as a coach to cheer people on or empathize with what they say, and inspire people to be as accepting as I am. Hopefully, by the end of the year, everyone will feel closer to one another and keep doing the activity next year for Gamer Club.

AM, Gamer Club, (2019)

As a Mexican student, I have wanted to make a space for students to talk in Spanish so that they can practice their language and help others learn the language.

On Tuesdays, I will have a designated spot in the OC lunch room for Spanish speaking and Spanish-learning students to speak Spanish to one another. Spanish speaking students can teach Spanish-learning students how to speak the language, which also helps the teacher become more fluent. Just hearing the language instead of being in a traditional Spanish class teaches in a unique way. Hopefully, by the end of the year, students will become comfortable with their Spanish tongue and make friends with those who share a common language with each other. We can measure this by speaking a bit more Spanish every time we meet. My role in this plan is to create the space for this activity by presenting the idea at the school Soapbox. It is nerve-wracking to start a whole new idea in a space that hasn’t had this sort of get-together before, but I think I can handle it with practicing my proposal in English and Spanish.

In conclusion, this project was tough to make a start on, but once I started, it has been one of the most thought-provoking projects I have completed. I am super proud of the organization and connectivity of all of my points. I hope that my SMART goals will help the student body and me.

Citations

DC, Personal Interview, (2019)

“DiSC Profile - What Is DiSC®? The DiSC Personality Test and Profile Explained.” DiSCProfile.com, www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/overview/.

ES, Personal Interview, (2019)

"Free Personality Test, Type Descriptions, Relationship and Career Relationships" https://www.16personalities.com

KC, Personal Interview, (2019)

SB, Personal Interview, (2019)

Promoting Success with Access

The senior class took hold of the steering wheel for the second half of our Economics course. The focus of the course was on the book “Doughnut Economics” by Kate Raworth. In her book, she visits the idea of old economic theory and renovates it in a more modern way of thinking. My class of 14 students was divided into groups of two. Each group focused on a chapter in “Doughnut Economics” and had to teach a lesson based on the chapter. My friend JN and I’s chapter, “Create to Regenerate”, was about the difference between a circular economy and linear economy. JN and I wanted to make our lesson interactive (aka not showing a wordy slideshow) so we had the class participate in a simulation. The simulation went as planned, with some minor discrepancies. Once the class and the teacher reflected on what they learned from our simulation, JN and I felt very accomplished of our successful lesson! It was very cool to hear other student’s presentations and views on the other chapters of “Doughnut Economics”. After studying Raworth’s book, the senior class went downtown to WeWork to visit a company named Rheaply. Instead of creating new, why not create a community of companies willing to reduce the amount of garbage at landfills? Rheaply aims to create a circular economy with creating an accessible, sustainable market for companies to sell and buy old resources. Rheaply was started by a young, black man, which is really inspiring to see a person of color as the CEO of a company. I gained a lot of valuable knowledge from this Field Experience.
To wrap the end of this term, I have created a mock chapter for “Doughnut Economics”. In this project, I will introduce another way to think like a 21st century economist.

Promoting Success with Access

JMP, Promoting Success with Access, (2019)

As I conduct a tour throughout the halls of the Art Institute of Chicago with my black and brown friends, unwelcoming stares from white tourist families burn. Black security guards stand at their post with blank faces, ignored by visitors left and right. When I leave late from work, I see older hispanic women cleaning up after fancy events held for the rich. 7 in 10 senior executives in the Fortune 500 are white men. Seeing a person of color be a senior executive in a large company is unusual. This system is still around because it is harder for minorities, first generation, women, and low-income people to earn high education and have their voice heard. It is a major problem in our current world that people of color (POC) are not represented right in our economy. Imagine what the future COULD look like. If it wasn’t unusual to see a black woman as CEO of a company, younger black kids would look up to her and be inspired by simply seeing someone that looks like them in power. If the economy provided a space for Latino sellers in desert neighborhoods, neighbors would come out and create stronger community. This sort of global perspective benefits both parties through cultural capital. Cultural capital would give power to people of color in the market and become successful and rise up the social ladder without necessarily having financial capital. Every market should exist once the economic world is more accessible for minorities.

Raworth says in “Doughnut Economics”,“Economics is not a matter of discovering laws: it is essentially a question of design.” We must fight the status quo right now and bring more representation in businesses for younger generations of people of color. Markets are not the most accessible right now, but young POC are working on it. Personally, I am fighting my own battle in the market world. I am a Latina, first generation, low-income queer woman that has started a jewelry business this past summer. I sell clay earrings based off of Mexican sweet treats. Since there are no spaces in the Southeast side of Chicago to sell my art to my intended audience (Hispanic/Latinx people), I travel two hours to the northside of Chicago to sell my jewelry at pop up shops. Since majority of buyers in the northside are not familiar with Mexican culture, I often have to teach about my heritage while trying to sell items. Trying to validate and educate my culture to anglo people as a Mexican teen is tough, so I usually do not get very far. The result? Traveling back two hours to the Southeast side with a backpack still full of jewelry. The market is not accessible to me or Latinx buyers. We both don’t benefit from this situation. I don’t sell jewelry to Latinx people, and the Latinx people are not able to buy my art at a location by them. According to Fortune, seventy-three percent of the senior executives, men and women, are white. The rest are 21% Asian, 3% Latino/a, 2% black, 0.6% two or more races, 0.2% Native American and 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Since this is the case, I was very surprised to see a black man as the CEO of the company we visited for our Field Experience. Gary Cooper, CEO of Rheaply, said ,“Starting a company is really really hard. Starting a company in tech, as a first time founder, is three more times as hard. Not a lot of founders are minorities, less than 1%. So there’s a lot of things that are hard to navigate. I think the hardest thing is taking the leap. To just say, hey, I believe in this, I think it could work.” I think Gary understands the struggle as much as I do, but we still both took the leap to start our business with great confidence. Once the market world is more accessible to minorities, people like Gary and I could thrive and sell more to our intended audiences, and benefit those who are looking for our services

Citations
Jones, Stacy. “Fortune 500: 7 in 10 Senior Executives Are White Men.” Fortune, Fortune, 10 June 2017, fortune.com/2017/06/09/white-men-senior-executives-fortune-500-companies-diversity-data/.

Raworth, Kate. Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think like a 21st-Century Economist. Random House Business Books, 2018.

Internetainers' Impact on the 21st Century

Our last chunk of our Journalism course taught us the impact of voice throughout the past ten centuries. I enjoyed identifying important voices of entertainers, musicians, speakers, presidents, and crooks. I was very surprised how voices can be quickly identified with just one second of their iconic tone or sound, such as Barack Obama or Donald Trump. I decided to produce a podcast based on who I believe are iconic voices of the 21st century- YouTubers Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal- and interviewed my peers about them. I have a deep connection with Rhett and Link. Since I became a fan of them in fifth grade, my humor and dialogue has been influenced by theirs. Since I watch their content everyday, their lingo has become part of mine. I watch them because they inspire me to be my best creative self and speak my valued voice. In 2017, I stood outside after their show in Chicago in negative degree weather to meet them. When they were leaving the theater, I was able to thank them for their impact on me and take a picture.

JMP, Tour of Mythicality, (2017)

 This year, I was able to earn a job at the Art Institute of Chicago and save up enough money for a meet and greet ticket to meet them indoors at their next tour stop.

JMP, The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek, (2019)

I have met a number of best friends due to a shared love for Rhett and Link. One of them is my friend KC, who lives in California. We have been friends for about six years. We met through a chat dedicated to talking about our favorite episodes that Rhett and Link release on YouTube. We consistently talk everyday and send care packages to each other for the holidays. This upcoming summer, we are planning to meet for the first time! I would not have become best friends with KC without stumbling upon Rhett and Link first.

Since I know a number of people in GCE enjoy their content also, I wanted to hear what the impact of Rhett and Link was on them. I interviewed two people from the senior class, the head of school, and my friend KC from California. I picked these people because we talk about Rhett and Link eagerly when something is new with them. I liked the format of asking the question, and hearing the diverse answers at once.

Live Your Life with Compassion

Photography has interested me since sophomore year because of my friends' knack at the art. I often like having photos taken of me and posting them on social media. In my Journalism class, I got to go on Field Experiences to practice being behind the camera to tell a story. I took photos of my classmates, the train station, and the garden. I had to explain the story behind the photos in front of my class.

This Action Project had me practice my photography skills on a person that answered the question "What is the meaning of life?" I picked my mother to interview because she is an optimistic and influencial person in my life.

Eli is a Mexican 52 year old woman that grew up in the South Chicago neighborhood. She raised her three children there- Destiny (29) Savannah (22) and myself (17). Both of her parents immigrated from Mexico to Chicago in the 1940s. Her father worked in the steel mills all of his life, while her mom cooked, cleaned, and sold Avon. When she isn’t at her front desk job at Harbor Point Estates, she enjoys bike riding, grilling her famous shish-kabobs, and cuddling with her two dogs and four cats when she gets home from work. Although she has been through some tough spots in her life, she has made sure to keep a positive attitude and keep pushing through.

At 9pm, I laid next to my mom on her bed with a pet dog  on each of our laps. I was sick with a fever but I had to push through and interview her for my project. When I explained the purpose of the interview at first, she doubted that she would be suitable to answer such a daunting question. I reassured her that she would do great and started recording.

“So, what is the meaning of life to you? What are your values?” She burst into hearty laughter and tears started rolling off her cheeks. I sat there in awe, confused by the certain burst of emotion from her.

“This is too deep. This is too deep, man.” She wiped the tears off of her face, struggled forming a straight face, then immediately burst into laughter again. “Live life happily, just by doing the things you enjoy on a daily basis. Live your life with compassion and have no regrets.” I wondered what that looked like, so I asked her how she practices her meaning of life.

“I wake up at about 5, pretty early. I take my spunky chihuahua out. Surprisingly, she wakes me up every morning to go outside and pee, even though she is very old. I make my coffee, Boston style. Lots of cream and sugar. I gotta make sure the weather channel is on while I am getting ready so I can listen in on what I should wear for the day. Seeing the weather ladies on the news inspires my outfits and jewelry. I gotta put on my war paint, aka my makeup. I don’t want people to realize how old I actually am.”

We laughed about her adoration for weather ladies and continued eating candy on her bed. “The meaning of life has changed so much for me since I was your age, Jessenia.” She closed her eyes and pet her chihuahua.

I pondered about her transition from being a teenager to now, so I asked, “How has the meaning of life changed for you since?" Eli pointed to multiple prayer picture cards of her deceased friends tucked on the side of her mirror. “When I was younger, I didn’t value anything. I had everything, and then I had great losses. Losing friends at a young age really hurt me. I started valuing life more once I realized I need to be grateful in the moment.” I got up from the bed and examined her prayer cards, each symbolizing a sad year in her life.

“What was the first impactful loss in your life?”, I asked.  Eli sadly smiled and grabbed her bible from her nightstand.

“My best friend from high school and my husband got shot on the same day, and they died a week apart. I think that impacted my life because of the coincidence. It was tragic. Just the experience of having to go to the hospital and then the trip to the morgue to identify the body. I can’t really relive everything. It feels like a blur and it hurts.”

Personally, I have never been through family loss, but I have accompanied Eli to her close family friend's funerals since I was smaller. I asked her if family loss is the same as friend loss. She hesitated and said, "A different part of your heart hurts when your parent dies than when your friend dies. Until you experience it, you won’t know how it feels."

We took a moment of silence as she flipped through her bible, full of highlighted quotes, scribbled notes in the margin, and saint prayer cards stuck in the binder. “I have been trying to get into the habit of reading verses from my bible before I leave the house. I pray to have a safe journey and not bump into people I don’t like. My mom always prayed, so I try to keep up with her tradition."


Here is a picture I took of Eli while she was waiting for the J14 bus on South Chicago Avenue and 83rd St the next day. It was very early in the morning because she was on her way to work. The aperture was high in this photo, which means that I let a lot of light through my lens. I wanted the bright colors to pop out, so that is why I used high aperture. I had high shutter speed when I took this, because the windy day was blowing her hair in all different directions. I hoped her hair would look like it was in place when taking the photo. The focus was on her face because she loves making animated facial expressions to show her spunk. The most colorful part of the photo is her face with different shades of red on her glasses and hair. She is wearing a pair of heart earrings that I gifted her for her birthday. I also practiced the “Rule of Thirds” while taking this picture. Her body is in the center of the photo, which is appealing to the eye. This photo encompasses her personality because she is very goofy, stylish, and fierce.

This photo is objective because I think others would agree with the adjectives I pulled out from her personality shown in the photo. Her meaning of life, living life happily and with compassion, is very bright in this picture.

Curating My Future Life Choices

Life beyond high school is exciting to plan for because I want to live the happiest life possible. I hope to study Anthropology/Sociology and Art History in my college career. 
Outside of the classroom, my internship at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) sparked my interest in the intersection of art and culture in non-anglo societies. My supervisor taught my co-workers and I the importance of accurate representation of indigenous communities in museums. Many indigenous artifacts at museums have been removed from their countries without permission, which leads to false descriptions and carelessly curated galleries. After research, I co-led a discussion panel with other AIC teens about how this affects visitors' impressions of indigenous art. We decided to advocate for change, which was difficult because the museum followed traditional practices that have never been examined by young people of color. We shared our frustrations and solutions for accurately representing indigenous culture to the curator of the African galleries at AIC, resulting in a recurated African gallery. This experience has inspired me to change how museums acquire art on a larger scale by becoming a museum curator as my future career, especially because minorities are underrepresented in the art world.
But the question is, what does that look like? So many big decisions have to be made, such as picking a college to attend, what major to pursue, what jobs to apply to during and after college, and ways of budgeting money. I learned how to make educated guesses and assumptions and use existing data to create a plan for my life after high school in my Economics class. My most favorite take away from this class was becoming comfortable with Google Sheets. I learned how to do calculations and organize data in Google Sheets. Practicing this skill will be beneficial to me in the future. 

JMP, Lifetime Earnings of a Museum Curator, (2019)

I calculated the lifetime earnings of a museum curator. A museum curator's salary ranges, depending on how much experience they have. I calculated how much I would make if I started working right when I graduate from college ,until retirement in 2063. Since I will earn more money with the more experience I gain, I have predicted that I will make around $2,030,839 in my lifetime. I interviewed Ayana Chavis, Program Coordinator of Youth and Family Programs at the Art Institute of Chicago, about her experience in Museum Education. She has been my supervisor at both internships I have been part of since junior year. 

1. What is your career? 

"My job encompasses planning, implementing and supporting our programs for family audiences which include everyday, seasonal and annual programming, such as our festivals and some offsite programming. I am also a manager of teen programs here in our division and department, where I mentor the teens in our internships here at the museum."

2. What college did you attend? Why did you decide to go to college? Why did you decide to attend your college?

"I decided to go to college, because really it was the only way I had ever been taught that I could sustain a life for myself as an independent woman. My mom was the person in my family that really pushed me to obtain a higher education and to always do well in school. In the fall of 2011, I attended Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in Richmond, Virginia where I would graduate with a Bachelors of Science degree in Anthropology and African American Studies. I decided to go there, because I liked the environment of the school. Mostly I felt as if I could see myself there and indulge in the culture of the university and of the city. The school also had the major I was considering initially, which was journalism. I also liked that Richmond wasn’t too far from home, but I got to have a sense of newness by going to college out of state since I’m from North Carolina."

3. Was college a worthwhile time and money investment for you? Does your career right now make up for the investment during college?

"College was worthwhile of my time, because I felt that I experienced so many new things, learned so much about myself and how to critically think about the world, especially as a black person and woman living in the United States. I met so many new people and built amazing connections. I have to say that besides receiving a full scholarship during graduate school, the money I invested in my undergraduate degree at VCU was not worth the debt I would take on considering that the career I am currently in does not pay enough to maintain a comfortable standard of living in Chicago and allow me to pay my student loans without sacrifice. I like what I do, but I don’t think that a passion for something makes up for being underpaid. The field of education is highly undervalued in terms of the hard work that we do and how it is decided how much that is worth in terms of salary and wages."

4. What advice do you have for me on the value of my college education?

"The advice I would offer to you Jessenia, is to follow your heart and make good decisions in the moment. Always know that there are so many possibilities to the way you can achieve what you want. Know that while your education is important, it does not solely make up who you are or say everything about your worth as a person. Who you are is not about what you do, it is about the content of your character. And if you lead yourself into your college experience being sure about that, what you want and advocating for yourself first, you cannot go wrong."

After conducting my extended research about the pros and cons of Pitzer College and Amherst College, how long it would take to pay off college loans, and hearing from a museum professional’s experience, I have decided that I would like to attend Pitzer College. I think the openness of the community and colleges around it, combination of the majors I want, and warm weather area is worth the investment. I am excited to find out which school I get admitted to, which will slightly alter my predicted plan.