In what organizers said was a first for the historically under-resourced region, hundreds of students and parents from across the south suburbs gathered Monday in Richton Park to meet with representatives of five top colleges through the Linking Access, Unity, Networking, Collaboration and Higher Education consortium.
“Being first doesn’t bother us at all,” said Blondean Davis, CEO of Southland College Prep Charter High School. “If we don’t speak out for our children, then who would?”
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Representatives from Cornell University, Emory University, Pomona College, Rice University and Washington University in St. Louis gave presentations and spoke to students and parents at the school.
“Our dream is that this becomes the norm, and that the families in the south suburbs don’t get overlooked for these types of opportunities, because there is a ton of talent in the south suburban area that needs this exposure, that wants this exposure,” said Johnnie Thomas, superintendent of Rich Township High School District 227.
Often, Thomas said, he gets asked to explain to families why access to opportunities like the Monday night event are so important.
“This is your future,” Thomas said. “This is about you, and your gifts, and how hard you have poured into your education. And now it’s time for you to reap the benefits of all of your hard work.”
Bryce Friend, a senior at Rich Township High School, was one of more than 250 students who registered for the event. He said he hopes to study public health and eventually become a doctor.
“One of my major goals is to help people, which is why I chose public health,” Friend said. “Any school here tonight is like my dream school.”
Friend was encouraged to come to the event by a school counselor after being recommended by his teachers, he said.
“I said, ‘me?'” Friend recounted. “Some people, we don’t always think of ourselves as worthy, but when somebody tells you, ‘you are going, you are selected’ — I could not believe it.”
Davis said she’d reached out to more than 20 superintendents across the south suburbs to encourage them to bring students to the event, so that it wasn’t just students at Southland College Prep who got a chance to benefit from the opportunity.
“You all deserve to be in this room,” Thomas told the assembled students. “Whatever happens from this point forward, just know, you all deserve to be in this room.”
The only other LAUNCH consortium event in Illinois this year was held in Winnetka in the north suburbs, according to a news release.
“Traditionally, these programs are held in the west suburbs, the north suburbs, the more affluent side of Chicago,” said Robert Lane, director of college admissions at Southland College Prep. “Our students, traditionally, have to make a very long trek to get to those type of programs.”
Lane said it was particularly important that all five schools offered full need-based financial aid, an opportunity most families aren’t aware of.
“If you’re admitted to any of these five schools, they make a commitment to every single student receiving 100% of what they need,” Lane said. “In this economy, in this region, in this geographic area, that is a life-changing opportunity.”
Students from the south suburbs are already attending all five schools, Lane said, but the south suburbs are often still ignored and bypassed by college recruitment programs.
“Our hope is that, with this being a success, we can then send this information to the other consortiums,” Lane said. “And say, hey, if you haven’t been paying attention, there is a huge community south of downtown that is often erased, in Chicago, and maybe you should come too.”
Gene Mambo, a senior at Southland College Prep, said he planned to study electrical engineering in college.
“I think it’s a really cool event to have, especially at a south suburban school,” Mambo said. “It’s kind of rare for a LAUNCH event to happen in a place like this, in a predominantly Black area with a lot of kids being low-income or first generation.”
Singer Rodrick Dixon performed “Make Them Hear You” from the musical “Ragtime” for the assembled students ahead of the main presentation.
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“Go out and tell our story, let it echo far and wide,” Dixon sang. “Make them hear you.”