My Brother’s Keeper high school students get inspired at UIC 

About 100 high school students who are part of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance were recently welcomed to the University of Illinois Chicago for a daylong symposium to learn about the university’s focus on student success. 

The alliance, launched by former President Barack Obama in 2014, addresses opportunity gaps boys and young men of color face. It brings together community leaders, alliance members and public and private agencies to provide change.

UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda welcomed the group of soon-to-be first-year high school students by sharing the close ties between UIC and the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.  

“We have the same vision, and we have the same belief, and that is that young men of color have enormous talent and have the right to have opportunities to bring that talent to its greatest fruition,” Miranda said.  

UIC is a Minority-Serving Institution, where 56% of the students are Pell grant-eligible, Miranda noted. About half of UIC’s student body is made up of first-generation college students, and the university’s clinics and hospitals focus on serving the most underserved communities in Chicago and across the state, she added. 

“As you walk through our campus today, I hope you see that this is a place where you belong and a place where you can be successful, supported, seen and heard,” Miranda said. 

Lionel Allen Jr., interim vice chancellor for equity and diversity, was the event’s emcee. Panel discussions with students and sessions to introduce them to UIC’s academic programs, student services and campus life were also part of the day. 

Malik Johnson, an associate with My Brother’s Keeper, spoke to the group and thanked UIC for its support. 

“I want to give a hand to UIC again for being in line with us and walking hand-in-hand with us to make this happen and being in support of our young men to make sure that each of them has an opportunity to achieve,” Johnson said. 

By exposing the attendees to the programs available to them if they decide to attend UIC in the future, the university and the alliance are demonstrating their support for their future success. 

“UIC and My Brother’s Keeper believe and know they put you all in this room to expose you to college early and to expose you to your future and what your future can entail,” Johnson said. “They put you in a room, let you take up the space and see people that look like you, see people who have the same experiences as you, and you can see people who have experienced things that you have not yet.” 

He called on the group to take advantage of their day by absorbing the advice and counsel of the presenters and students who have experienced college life.

Jaqueza Thomas, a UIC student studying political science, told attendees that when he was in eighth grade, college wasn’t on his radar. But surrounding himself with people who want him to succeed helped, he said. 

“Networking is the biggest thing,” Thomas said. “Use today to network and meet new people, because it’s one of the things that you get to do as a college student, which is networking and meeting great people who want to see you win.” 

Thomas told the group that to succeed in college, time management is essential. But unlike in high school, where students may have relied on teachers and parents to stay on task, in college, students must rely on themselves.

He said a physical calendar helped, and he color-coded his classes to show when assignments were due. That allowed him to finish assignments ahead of time, he said.

“Discipline is freedom,” Thomas said. “When you learn to manage your time, you get to control your day instead of it controlling you.”

Thomas, who started the youth mentorship foundation Chicago Emerging Stars and is a youth commissioner for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, told the group not to sell themselves short. He recently traveled to Brazil for a youth summit as part of the alliance.

“Every room you walk into, you deserve to be there, and sometimes, just like me, you may even end up shaking hands with President Barack Obama,” Thomas said.

He said he is grateful that a school counselor suggested he apply to UIC.

“If I didn’t listen to my high school counselor, who talked me into going to UIC, who knows where I would be,” Thomas said.