Isela Estrada (Pavona-4th Period)

On Thursday, February 2, we had the pleasure of interviewing Isela Estrada, a Dance Instructor. She combines her passion for dance and helping people out whom she calls “dance therapy” She has 25 years of experience, before her doing this she us to work with kids. She also was a counselor at John Hancock High School. She recently opened a dance studio (MATLI) with her sister. Isela Estrada is studying art therapy, while she does that she has a part time job. While she was at school working to get a degree in dance she thought that she could do more for herself, therefore she decided to do dance therapy.

 As Isela Estrada became a hero she faced challenges but that didn’t stop her. She works with dance therapy; she describes this as a way of using dance to help you resolve your issues. She said that this way people get help because they are learning dancing skills and they are also getting counseling. She helps them out to resolve any problems that they have. She decided to do this because she wanted to help people out in the community. She wanted to make a difference in people’s lives.  She also mentioned that she wanted to do this because she saw that other teachers didn’t help out. They did nothing to help neither try to resolve the problem this made her want to help kids out. One of the challenges she faced was working with her sister. She mentioned that when they disagreed in something “it was hard not to take it personal”. Not only that but then when they went with family they had to forget about it or family will notice. 

Isela Estrada has a lot of beliefs. She believes that people shouldn’t use the word hero. She prefers the word “Servant of God”. She takes her religion, culture, and who she is very seriously. Those are big factors in her life. She believes that the fact that she was Hispanic made her want to be successful. Isela Estrada really values who she is, her culture, beliefs, and where she came from. She is really happy about what she is doing. She told us “Not only do I love it… I help people resolve their issues. We have feelings and sensations that mix together.”

           “Someone that is selfless and gives up their life to help people,” that is Isela Estrada’s definition of a hero. She also gave an example of who she thinks represents a hero, which is Martin Luther King Jr. She doesn’t consider herself a hero; she instead said, “I consider myself a servant of God.” She was also able to give advice to the teens. She said, respect yourself, educate yourself. Because she is working hard at helping the community out, many believe that Isela Estrada is a hero.

Written by Jessica A.

Antonio Lopez (Pavona-4th Period)

On Thursday, February 2, we had the pleasure of interviewing Antonio Lopez, a PhD student. He has been in College since 1999. He graduated in 2003, but he decided to stay in school until now. Before college, he attended Whitney Young High School. His greatest goal is to become a History professor at a University. He soon will, but for now he is a mentor for high school students.

                Antonio Lopez has faced many challenges but also achieved many goals in his work. When he was younger, his family and he faced poverty. He didn’t want to live this way, so he attended school everyday. However, in school, he had many friends that stopped him from learning new things. He said it was difficult but he had to leave them in order to proceed. Now he has a Master’s Degree in history, but he isn’t stopping there. He plans to continue his education so that he can earn his Doctorate’s degree and become a professor. He wants to become a professor because “with teaching, you at least give something back.” Meaning, he wants to do the same thing for people that others did for him, and that was to help him become a great student.

Mr. Lopez: "Education is the key to success."

                Antonio Lopez cares deeply about his education. He says that “education is the key to success.” He has gone to school ever since he was five years old. His education has allowed him to travel to various places. Also, he has been able to help locally. He helps many Latinos in Pilsen learn how to speak the English language. His contributions to the community have made him a very admirable person.

                “Don’t under-appreciate what it means to be in school.” Those were Mr. Lopez words of advice for teenagers. He says that teens that go to school should be grateful because while they are fooling around in class, other children are working their lives off just because they can’t afford an education. “For children who aren’t in school due to economic problems, you need to pursue your education.” His words are very important because he knows how children are easily motivated by bigger figures, and he hopes to make a difference in his community.

Written by Elbert P.

Ray Salazar (Pavona-4th Period)

            On Thursday, February 2^nd, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Ray Salazar, a writing teacher at Hancock College Prep. Although he’s been in his current job for less than a year, he said, “I have been in education for seventeen years. I have been a teacher for fourteen of those seventeen years.” His prior jobs as a teacher were at Jones College Prep and Hubbard High School. To get his degree in writing, he went to DePaul University for five years. 

Mr. Ray Salazar: Writer, Teacher, Hancock Hero

            Mr. Salazar has faced many challenges but also achieved many goals in his work. When he was young, Mr. Ray Salazar had decided to become a lawyer. When he saw that there were too many Latino lawyers, he wanted to become a teacher. When the time was appropriate, he signed up for college and went to learn, so one day he would teach. His family lived in poverty, so he knew it was up to him to pay for his own school. Due to the fact that he had to work at Burger King full-time, it took Mr. Salazar five years to graduate from school. This was the only way he saw that he could fulfill this dream. Now that he has his job, his work consists of working with teachers with writing to strengthen the knowledge of the students; he teaches two classes of his own, makes the school newspaper, and has a center where the students can go get help with writing assignments. He says he likes this job because, “I always felt comfortable in school.” 

            Mr. Salazar cares deeply about his work. As shown above, he likes this job because he has always liked writing, and school is something he has gotten used to and started to like. Before the teaching began, Mr. Salazar used to write articles for magazines and radio stations, so this influences his desire for writing. Although many students have been helped thanks to him, he said, “I do not consider myself a hero.” Mr. Salazar believes that Hancock College Prep is giving young people a lot of chances to practice writing. He also believes that teachers can make a difference in their communities. 

            “Heroes help other people recognize their talents and make them think different,” said Mr. Ray Salazar. Mr. Salazar has also given advice to young people. “Be proud of the motivation to do something. First you fulfill your dreams, and then you help other people change their lives.” Mr. Salazar may not consider himself a hero, but by his definition of a hero, you can clearly see that he is a hero.

Written by  Charles G.

Marty Quinn (Pavona-4th Period)

            On Thursday, February 2^nd, we had the pleasure of interviewing Marty Quinn, an alderman.  Mr. Quinn had not been at this job for very long, only barely passing the nine month mark.  He did not mention his prior experience with this line of work, but he did talk about his dream of becoming a high school baseball coach after his current job.  Mr. Quinn also mentioned how his bachelor’s degree in sociology helped kick-start his career as a politician.  Mr. Quinn talked about growing up on the southwest side of the city and how that helped him understand the people he was representing a bit more.

Alderman Quinn at Hancock High School

            Marty Quinn has faced many challenges but also achieved great things in his work. A huge issue that Quinn faces is foreclosure in Chicago. He works round the clock to help people keep their homes and their jobs.  He has also been working with the mayor to get more police officers in the city.  When asked about his reasoning behind being an alderman, he stated, “I got into this job not for the perception of being an alderman or for the ego of it all.  I got into this job as an opportunity for me to serve my community, as an opportunity to give back.”

            Something that Marty Quinn values is his family. He talked about how the births of his three daughters all involved some form of complications.  He told us that those births made him realize how many take life for granted.  He explained how these values connected with his work a little bit.  He said, “It’s important for me not to be phony.  As I said, I have three girls.  My 8-year old likes to come to work with me, and it’s important that it’s not only me telling her how important it is to be active in the community but actually demonstrating and showing her.”  Mr. Quinn believes that the youth should be challenged at all times, as evidenced by his support of the Longer School Day.  He greatly values education.

            Mr. Quinn did not really offer up any specific traits of someone who is a hero.  Instead, he talked about whom he considered a hero; a Chicago fireman who, while fishing, noticed a many drowning and jumped in to save him.  He offered some advice, as well. He told us, “Take education seriously.  There are not only Americans competing in the job force, but in the global economy, as well.”  However, Mr. Quinn admitted that he did not consider himself a hero.  He simply considered himself an ordinary citizen of Chicago.  He stated that he didn’t care about the legacy he might leave behind.  Although Marty Quinn doesn’t consider himself one, we believe that Marty Quinn is a shining example of a true community hero.

Written by Barbara C.

Francisco Leal (Mirek-1st Period)

Not everyone is considered a hero, but people like Francisco Leal are. Mr.Leal works as an Assistant Principal on the Southwest Side of Chicago. He was born in Mexico but grew up in Chicago. Mr.Leal went to Little Village Elementry and later on was a student in Wisconsin for four years.He was an active student; he enjoyed playing sports and helping the community. Like all other heroes, Francisco Leal went through many challenges.

Francisco Leal is the Assistant Principal of Pasteur Elementary School in Southwest Chicago. Leal chose to work with students because he knew this would help many kids. Before Mr. Leal became an Assistant Principal, he was a teacher. He decided to become an Assistant Principal to help out his community and students. Leal said, "I always wanted to work with people, with kids and parents."

Mr. Francisco Leal sharing advice with students.

Mr. Leal's parents didn't believe he would grow up to be an Assistant Principal at Pasteur Elementry School because when he was a teenager in high school he didn't enjoy reading and math. His parents didn't go to high school or college but wanted him and his sister to have a full education. Mr. Leal has an older sister who went to college to become a teacher. Soon, Mr. Leal realized he wanted to become a teacher too.

Many people look at heroism in different ways. Mr. Leal considers a hero someone who does positive things and wouldn't ask anything in return. He said, "I try to do something positive, and I don't expect to get anything back." The good feeling that comes from helping others is enough for him to keep helping others. Mr. Leal also gave good advice for others in the community; "You have to work together. I think in a community everyone needs to work together." As he continues on about the good of helping others, we couldn't agree more to his answers and comments. We all nodded in agreement and coudn't help to think what a great honor it was to speak with Fransico Leal.

Hector Gonzalez (Mirek-1st Period)

In the community, not all heroes need super powers to make a difference in someone's life. A hero in the community of the southwest side of Chicago is Hector Gonzales. Hector Gonzales ran for alderman while he was involved with hip/hop and graffiti. He comes from the north side of Chicago in the Uptown neighborhood. His parents migrated to Chicago from Mexico. He went to Roosevelt High School and finished high school while his mom kept getting deported back to Mexico.

Hectors Gonzalez's job was to work with hip hop and politics. Since he said "It's important to have teens and community with politics; it will make [communities] better." Challenges that he had were that  he would get suspended from school for break dancing to hip /hop but he said, "I don't regret break dancing in school and getting suspended". It led him to believe in himself and to help teens now in school. He has been working with hip/hop, teens, and politics because, according to him, it's important to have teens and community work with politics to understand one another.

Hector Gonzalez with a student during the interview.

Mr. Gonzalez values his work and the community because what he does is brings the community together in a better way through hip/hop. He does another thing which can make the community come together like he said, "I just want to change the world. What I'm doing is to help communities and people."

Gonzalez's job is working with hip hop, graffiti, teens, and community politics. In this way he wants to change the world in a different way and bring people from the community together to make a better place for everyone. One good piece of advice Mr. Gonzalez gave to young people was "We have the power to do our decisions, and silence is sometimes good and bad." Mr. Gonzalez also said, "When you know who you are and when you know your parent's stories, this helps you understand where you're going." He lastly added this, "I love hip hop."