Meet the Team: Iysha, Bennie and Taniqua

My name is Iysha. I go to Gary Comer College Prep and I am going to be in the 11th grade. I live in the Roseland neighborhood. I chose SSP because I wanted to experience something different and I love community work. One thing that I learned so far is that the City of Chicago has 77 different neighborhoods. Another thing that I learned was that Dyett High School was a grammar school before it was a high school. What I like about SSP is that we get to experience different kinds of foods. When I am out of high school I want to attend college then I want to work on being a nurse or becoming a family doctor.

Hello, my name is Bennie. I attend Gary Comer College prep, which is a Charter School. Once I start school again, I will be a Junior/11th grade. The neighborhood that I live in is Roseland. I chose to do SSP because I knew this would help me in the future if I decided not to become and architect or entrepreneur. I learned a lot these past 2 weeks. I learned that the most influential and significant men who live in Hyde Park are: Barack Obama, Louis Farrakan, Mohammad Ali, and Jesse Jackson. Also, I learned that you should try knew things and that connections I make will be beneficial to me when I attend college. Our service project will address teen stress or food deserts. In SSP I like that we explore multiple environments and neighborhoods. After high school I want to go to college on a scholarship so I can fulfill my dreams. Also, I want to graduate with a doctoral degree in Business and Architecture. I'm interested in starting my own clothing and shoe line and designing my own house.

My name is Taniqua. I’m homeschooled. I will be a junior in high school. I live in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. I wanted to participate in the SSP program because I think it’s a chance for me to try new things and learn something I didn’t know before. Plus, it’s a great experience. I’ve learned more about health issues and how they impact our community. I also learned that there’s more history behind Greater Grand Crossing that I didn’t know about. The topics I would be interested in researching are stress and environmental health concerns. What I like about the SSP program is that I can learn new and different things without feeling like I’m in school. After high school I would like to go to college for forensic science or to be a pastry chef.