CommitToCollege
EXPECTATIONS FRANCISCO PAREDES CICS Northtown Academy, Class of 2011 Marquette University Major: Biomedical Engineering
Francisco and his mother, Ina Paredes
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I selected CICS Northtown Academy for my high school choice because my older brother went there, and at first it was a tough adjustment coming from a non-charter public elementary school. For one, I had to wear a uniform at Northtown, and I got in trouble for what felt like small things, like having my shirt untucked. It took me until about my sophomore year to realize the benefits—the school’s high expectations developed professionalism in me. To incoming freshman at the school, I’d say, get used to it—this is a reflection of what the future’s going to be like.
in me as I stayed in touch with them through high school, and eventually I was admitted there and they offered me an academic scholarship. It was great because I always wanted to go there, that was my plan.
While at CICS Northtown Academy, I participated in as many activities as I could. Because of my love of sports, I was accepted into the World Sport Chicago Scholar program, and received a $40,000 College Class of 2016 scholarship through the World Sport organization. I also attended all of Northtown’s college fairs, which is how I met a Marquette admissions representative my sophomore year. Marquette took an interest
The hardest thing about leaving home, you find yourself thinking about it and it makes you miss it that much more. I’m really fortunate, though, that both of my roommates have been friends of mine since kindergarten, I know how they are and they know how I am. It’s family away from family and home. I’ve also made friends on my floor and we play sports like flag football together.
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FocalPoint | Winter–Spring 2013
I am now in my freshman year at Marquette. I enrolled in the ROTC program—my brother and my dad were both in the military and that played a big part in my decision. I would like to pursue the military beyond college as well. I think the way I present myself in uniform…it’s better, because I had that advantage given that I was in uniform at Northtown.
Biomedical engineering is still my study focus, it’s very math- and science-based, right now I’m taking biology and I think it’s something that I can fall in love with. I know if I put more work into it, I’m going to end up liking it. I feel academically prepared by my time at Northtown—CICS was very strong with math, science, and English, so I am solid in those aspects here. I’m still trying to find a balance in time management, it will take me a while to realize. The thing that I find the most difficult is that everything is more individual, at CICS Northtown you have a stronger support system while you’re learning. Here, if you don’t understand it, the professor moves on without you. So I decided to take tutoring for the courses I find most difficult. I am tutored by people who have taken the class and got an A, it’s a good resource to have. To current high school students, my advice is, don’t limit yourself in what you want to do. Take as many hard classes as you can in high school, and do as many extracurriculars as you can, because when you come to college it’s going to be so hard to fit it all in. Don’t limit yourself so you can have time with your friends. You’ll find time to see friends even with a busy schedule. // Committed to Greatness
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Openingthoughts
JAMES NORRIS CICS Longwood, Class of 2006 DePauw University Major: Communications
I started at CICS Longwood in 4th grade, the second year it was open. I was referred by a friend, and I had a sister who was a year above me in school. Like a lot of guys who went through the CICS Longwood mentoring program, I started out as kind of a trouble maker, I would get sent to the office. Mr. Lang, the founder of the male mentoring program which was just forming at the time, started giving me certain tasks, which taught me responsibility. The mentoring group started out with about 5 of us. We’d reach out to the guys who were getting picked on or having a hard time. It would be in your behavior plan that if you messed up, you’d have to come to the mentoring group. The mentoring group was an outlet, a chance for a bunch of guys to come together and work through life. One of Mr. Lang’s key ideas was to break the stigma of who’s cool, wanted to bring everybody together and have it just be young black men coming together to discuss our issues. I think he figured, even though you all are different, you’re probably dealing with the same issues. It really helped. In terms of academics, I always figured myself to be a self-starter, I wanted better, so I was always pushing and fighting to participate in more, perform better, I knew I couldn’t afford to go to college without it. But halfway through my freshman year, my mom moved us to Mississippi, just when football was getting started and my grades were looking up. I was able to move back with my grandma junior year, I liked it better in Chicago and at Longwood. I figured I could stand out amongst a smaller group of students at Longwood. I finished junior and senior year as an athlete and graduated as the salutatorian.
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FocalPoint | Winter–Spring 2013
When I started to research college cost and options, it hit me just how big it was to get a scholarship—that’s the only way I could afford college. My college counselor Dr. Purham nominated me for a Posse Foundation scholarship. She was there to guide me through the entire process. She actually picked DePauw for me, she’d do that with all of her students, according to their personality and learning style. CICS Longwood was a small community so DePauw was a natural fit. While in college, I explored my options in terms of major, knowing that I liked working with kids and working to improve the community, I decided to study communications and get my paraprofessional certification. In January 2011, I applied for a position to work at CICS Longwood with the AVID program, which seeks to push A/B students to the next level. A key part of the program was visiting colleges—if you introduce a high school kid to current college students, you help mitigate culture shock in the future. We’d advise our students on which questions to ask the college admissions counselors—don’t ask about parties on campus, ask about the importance of note-taking and time management. It’s one thing when they hear it from you, it’s another when they hear from someone who’s living it. Because of trips like this, the AVID program started becoming popular, so we opened a new section and I got some student teaching experience. We took them to Notre Dame, University of Illinois, Marquette—every school they go to opens their eyes: Get your GPA up and you could possibly be in their position one day. Now I’m a SPED paraprofessional with 10th graders, and I also help coach the football team. I’ve learned a lot about myself, I like coaching, I like to work with kids—they’re smart but they need people to encourage them and get them work through their issues, to gain confidence speaking in class, and looking adults in the eye. It will be a challenge to get the mentoring program started again, but it’s been in discussion, amongst myself and a few of the campus leaders. The freshman and sophomore students have been asking. Time will tell—I’m still trying to tease out what the best thing is but I know I want to give back. //
“I feel academically prepared by my time at Northtown—CICS was very strong with math, science, and English, so I am solid in those - Francisco Paredes, Class of 2011 aspects here.”
Committed to Greatness
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