Senior
Major: Journalism and Spanish
CFS Concentration: Field Studies in Civic Engagement
I get off the ‘L’ Red Line at 95th, on the south side of Chicago, and walk to the connected bus terminal. I’m heading to a small park in Rosemoor for a meeting with a community activist. She’s a leader in so many groups that when I ask her to name them, she forgets a few and has to keep adding to the list throughout our hour long conversation. As we’re saying goodbye, she does something strange: she thanks me for my time and for taking public transportation all the way from Evanston down to 103rd Street to meet with her.
This quarter, I’m interning with Teach for America Chicago’s community partnerships team. The other seven team members and I partner with neighborhood-led education coalitions and various community leaders, like the woman in Rosemoor, to build mutually beneficial relationships. As a journalism major, one of my primary tasks is to redesign and relaunch the team’s web portal. I want it to become a resource for community members and Teach for America corps members alike.
Chicago Field Studies has given me the opportunity to get to do something out of the ordinary. Prior to my Teach for America internship, I had spent four years living near Chicago, but I felt I hadn’t had an opportunity to get to know the city well. Like most Northwestern students, I had visited the city’s iconic neighborhoods on the north side and downtown. With regards to the city’s south side, where I’ve done most of my internship work, I had only visited destination points, like Midway Airport, the University of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry. I didn’t know what life was really like for most Chicago residents.
Now I’ve spent time in Altgeld Gardens, Roseland and Englewood. Though I still can only understand the culture of these places from an outsider’s perspective, I’ve come to appreciate the passion and drive that their leaders have for their respective communities. Having the opportunity to get to know activists on a one-to-one, personal level has taught me about the strong local cultures and vibrant histories that can be found in all of these neighborhoods. The neighborhoods’ names may be synonymous with crime, guns, population decline and vacant lots in the media, but if people would give them a fighting chance, they all have so much to offer the city at-large.