José

I was in kindergarten when I moved from Waukegan to North Chicago with my parents and two siblings. So, 15-plus years ago.

North Chicago is not a wealthy city. A lot of people think it's bad, but then there's also people that think it's good. A lot of people think that North Chicago doesn't have a great education system and stuff like that. You just want to prove them wrong. If they ever ask where you grew up, you can say North Chicago. With pride, you know?

Growing up, I had friends that went to school in other places; Round Lake, Waukegan, Mundelein, and other places. When I first met them, they might say that North Chicago has a reputation that everyone's just not that good at school and that they just don't care. When I was in school, I remember that one of the administrators mentioned that we had one of the lowest test scores in the state. And even in attendance, that we're not the greatest; that the dropout rate was bad. 

You heard these negative things from people both outside and inside your community while growing up– but you graduated from North Chicago High School, you’re in college, and you’re holding down a part time job in a medical office. Was it a conscious choice to be and do something other than what was expected?

I loved going to the schools here. They don't have the greatest education system that a lot of schools claim to have, but I learned stuff. And also, I want to prove people wrong: "Yeah, I came from North Chicago, but look where I'm at. They helped me get there.”

My parents, they immigrated from Mexico. My mom went to middle school but then dropped out. My dad, he didn't finish either. That's one of the things that made me want to continue school and try to do my best. They've always told me: "We're not working are asses off for you to not care about school." 

My dad does landscaping for a living. Ever since I turned 16, he got me to work with him during the summer. Every day, six days a week. It didn't matter if it was raining or it was sunny outside, we still had to go to work. I'm not saying that it’s not a good job, but it shaped me: seeing that I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. Even when I was younger, he used to always tell me "I don't want you to go to work outside. I want you to at least be somewhere where you're going to advance in life. I just want you to get an education. I want you to do good. I don't want you to be doing what I do."

My mom, she does housekeeping. When I was 12, she took me one day to help her. A big house. She's said, “This could probably be your house in the future. Go to school, you could get this too.” They always were good, hard workers. And yes, it's good to work hard, but also, if I could get a good education I could go somewhere I want to be. They always said that I gotta get the education. Yeah, I could work jobs like theirs as a summer job, but not forever.

It’s a pretty classic example of parents wanting their kids to do better than they feel they did. How important was it to get that constant encouragement and push from your parents?

They always try to motivate me, even when I'm having bad days. They try to check up on me. They notice when I'm having a rough week. They say "Just don't stop, keep going. Even when you're doubting yourself."  So far, I'm still going. I want something for myself, and I want to make them proud.

I was about to graduate high school, and I was a little hesitant about starting college right away. Three weeks before school started, I told my parents; Hey I think I might just take the semester off. And both of them sat me down. My dad, can I say it in Spanish? So he's like, “Pesa mas una pala que un lápiz.” Referring to that a shovel's heavier than the pencil. “You've worked with me. If you don't go to school for the semester, you're gonna work with me all throughout the semester.” I'm like, No! I don't wanna do it! "If you're not gonna go to school, I want you to work with me. You're not just gonna be here, home, doing nothing." And my mom was like, "Yeah, if not, you could come with me!" 

There's some parents I've seen, they're not really a support system, or they don't really show it. They never say "Oh, I'm proud of you," even though they might think it. I'm very lucky my parents aren’t like that. If they were, I probably wouldn't be where I'm at. 

What do you aspire to?

To give back to my parents. To provide for them. One of my main goals is hopefully to buy them a house. A little house. Hopefully, get both of them to retire... maybe one of them. I want to give back to them everything they've done for me. And hopefully, buy my dad buy a truck. He's always wanted a truck, so that's one of the big things I want to do.

This conversation has been edited and condensed.