The first in a new monthly feature, March’s Partner Spotlight features a short Q&A with PE’s Director of Programs Syda Segovia-Taylor and Joel Rodriguez, a Community Organizer with the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP). Joel and SWOP have been deeply involved in the success of the Explore Engineering:Ten80 afterschool program at Gage Park High School, and Project Exploration looks forward to working with them on other initiatives on the city’s dynamic southwest side. Please visit their website, www.swopchicago.org, to learn more about their work.
Syda Segovia-Taylor: What can you tell us about the community you work in?
Joel Rodriguez: Our community is a beautiful community, primarily Latino and African American. It’s very diverse. We have gone through a number of challenges in the last few years, with things like the foreclosure crisis and issues with violence. There are also parts of our community that are considered food deserts, so access to fresh produce is very limited.
SWOP has taken on a lot of these issues and others that are important to the community. We are looking for solutions and working to strengthen our institutions so they can continue to be pivotal to moving the community in a positive direction.
SST: Can you tell us about how your organization works with youth?
JR: My role as a Community Organizer at SWOP is to develop young people to be leaders, to think critically about solutions to some of the issues that are very important to them. Our work with young people is about helping them discover who they are, and the power that they have individually and as a collective. SWOP believes that once a young person is developed, once they know how to organize, how to mobilize other young people, they will become our community leaders – understanding that there is a larger collective that they represent, that there is a community that they represent.
We empower them to think critically, to lead meetings, to lead any actions that they want to do. To think about what type of school they want. What type of community do they want? What is it going to take to get those things?
We very much believe in the power of young people, and the power of their stories. We don’t underestimate them. We’ve seen young people do some incredible things. We’ve had young people that have been part of changing the student code of conduct for CPS. Just last summer we had young people that passed a state law around school transparency. We understand that they are the ones who will be leading many of the initiatives for our community.
SST: How do you see PE’s mission advancing SWOP’s mission?
JR: SWOP is only as powerful as our partner institutions in the community. We don’t want to replace the institutions, our goal is to strengthen them. Our goal for our schools is for them to be able to provide a wide variety of opportunities and challenges for our young people, to give them a much better opportunity for their future and their families.
PE and the Explore Engineering:Ten80 program in Gage Park High School are really giving young people the opportunity to be exposed to different types of programming. For them to envision a different career path, a different direction for their future. A lot of our young people are struggling. A lot of schools have limited resources, so we welcome with open arms Project Exploration and the opportunities you are providing. We can see the difference they are making in our schools.
SST: What role do you see science playing in the development of your community?
JR: The more opportunities that our young people are exposed to, the better off they will be when they make decisions about their careers or the focus they have in their future. Science, and what I’ve seen at Gage Park High School, really challenges them in a number of ways. They have to work in teams, they have to think critically, they have to fundraise, come up with creative ways to give presentations. It really challenges them to improve their leadership skills.
Being exposed to science and technology – I can honestly say that it’s been transformative for these young people. At Gage Park there are three groups that have developed and they all have their own identity, they have their own work ethic. It’s incredible to see this play out.
SST: Can you tell us an interesting, funny, or touching story?
JR: This year at Gage Park, the young people really took ownership of the Explore Engineering:Ten80 program. I think it was brought about by how Mr. Weglarz worked with them. His approach with young people. He really gave them ownership. (Note: Krystian Weglarz is a teacher at Gage Park High School and the lead Facilitator for the Explore Engineering:Ten80 program there.)
I saw day in and day out, the young people meeting, getting their ideas and strategies together. I would walk in and see them arguing with each other, “No, we gotta do it like this!” “No, we gotta do it like that!” I saw that whole process play out throughout the school year.
Then, they went to the citywide Invitational and raced and got 1st and 3rd in the competition. I was at Gage Park High School that day doing an event. I saw them leave in the morning and when they came back, the smiles, the confidence and expressions on their faces were incredible. They were practically screaming at the top of their lungs, saying, “We won first and third! We won first and third!” It was so exciting, so touching to see all their hard work pay off. It’s incredible to see and incredible to be a part of that.
I really thank PE for providing this opportunity for Gage Park students, and we hope that it sticks around for a while.
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More About PE’s “Community Partner” Strategy
Over the past 15 years Project Exploration has worked with various partners to bring science and engineering opportunities to minority youth and girls. Within the past two years we have tapped into a network of community development corporations which have their fingers on the pulse of communities in Chicago. For those of you that are unfamiliar with CDC’s, they are non-profit organizations that help revitalize and strengthen neighborhoods by bringing community leaders, elected officials, parents, and youth to the table to create a Quality of Life plan. These plans include economic development, education, community organizing, real estate development, andaffordable housing. Project Exploration’s mission fits within their education plan so we work together to identify schools and resources to help meet the needs of the community and simultaneously change the face of science. Our CDC portfolio includes The Resurrection Project, Quad Communities Development Corporation, Greater-Auburn Gresham Development Corporation, Enlace, and Logan Square Neighborhood Association.