I got off the CTA Orange Line at State and Lake. I was a 17-year-old Southwest Side native all by myself, following Google Maps to my first-ever interview and, for the first time, being in downtown Chicago.
It might seem crazy, having lived most of my life in Chicago, but I had never set foot downtown until then. My life never afforded me the luxury.
Pointing toward the skyline from my home in Archer Heights, I’d tell my parents, “I’m going to work in one of those buildings one day.”
They’d nod and hug me close to them, conveying in their embrace their hopes and aspirations, motivating me to move forward.
My heart pounded as I entered a spacious office near the Riverwalk filled with several anxious high school students hoping to make the cut.
A few weeks later, I found myself still waiting for news of what I thought would be a rejection. I anxiously checked my email every chance I could. One came from the sender Chicago Scholars, a nonprofit organization supporting students to get into and through college and become leaders in their community.
With the program’s help, I got into DePaul University as a first-generation student and into a career right out of college.
As a Chicago Public Schools student and graduate of Acero-Major Hector P. Garcia M.D. High School, I have seen firsthand how our under-resourced, underfunded schools have failed a majority of my classmates in their preparation for adulthood and higher education.
We were taught to survive and “live above the water line” — high enough to not drown. I watched several classmates fall to the sway of gangs and drugs. Our outdated sex ed classes lacked contraception options and health information, contributing to many women of color becoming mothers at a young age.
Others dropped out to support their families, leaving behind dreams of becoming doctors and lawyers. They had no one to offer an educational ladder.
Chicago Scholars empowered and encouraged me. A mentor, college counselor and program staff recognized my potential and instilled in me a sense of confidence. Getting into DePaul helped me shed a sense of impostor syndrome.
It was daunting, of course, to have so much expectation placed on me. I felt as though I had a key to new places and opened a door for people in my community to follow behind me. I was no longer an outsider in downtown.
I graduated with honors from the biggest Catholic university in the United States. Now, I work at Chicago Scholars, training mentors and volunteers, setting guidelines on how they should support and mentor their students.
I am a part of an amazing group of people who motivate students to think of the bright futures they will have. I have so much faith in what is in store for me and what lies ahead.
Now when I ride the Orange Line home from my job downtown, I smile at the young girls seated in front of me, younger versions of me, dreaming big dreams on their way home from school, imagining how amazing their futures will be.
Valery Pineda, who works with mentors and volunteers at Chicago Scholars, is one of the Sun-Times’ Chicago’s Next Voices columnists.
