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Legislation Details
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Type:
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Resolution
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Status:
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Adopted
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Intro date:
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9/18/2019
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Current Controlling Legislative Body:
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Title:
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Congratulations extended to Claudette Soto and VAMOS program participants and mentors on completion of 2019 summer program
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Attachments:
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1. R2019-609.pdf
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RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, VAMOS was founded in 2001 as S.O.L., Summer of Learning, a student-led organization, by Claudette Soto, whom at the time was an undergrad at the Illinois Institute of Technology majoring in Architecture and minoring in Structural Engineering. S.O.L. was founded in order to honor the memory of a gifted young man named Juan Manuel Flores, a student from Curie High School that resided in the Back of the Yards community; and,
WHEREAS, in 2002, S.O.L was renamed VAMOS (Volunteer and Mentor One Summer "In Memory of Juan"]. During the spring of 2016, VAMOS was relaunched by the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) student organization LIFE&HACE and their dedicated student volunteers; and,
WHEREAS, the VAMOS Summer Program objective is two-fold: to provide a safe haven for students and to help encourage and support their transition to a higher education; and,
WHERAS, the students participating in this program are children of under-represented demographics within higher education, often the first in their families to potentially graduate from high school and college; and,
WHEREAS, the Mentors who share their same life and cultural experiences have been strategically selected to participate in this program with the goal of supporting students and serving as minority role models; and,
WHEREAS, the VAMOS program strives to expose African-American & Latino students from Back of the Yards, Gage Park, Chicago Lawn, and Brighton Park to higher education and instructional themes that will impact and transform their lives; and,
WHEREAS, students are exposed to an IIT-student created STEAM curriculum which is critical for this group, as they are often excluded or not afforded the same opportunity to access this type of curriculum; and,
WHEREAS, VAMOS partners with IIT Departments and professors for lectures and labs in order to facilitate not only for the introduction of STEAM fields to our middle school students but to establish relationships between the IIT student volunteers and their professors; and,
WHEREAS, with additional partnerships with Department of Family Support Services and the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, VAMOS is able to provide IIT student mentors & organizers between the ages with compensation for participating in VAMOS through One Summer Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, special gratitude is shown to businesses, organizations and leaders that donated time, talent and opportunity for discussion with the 2019 VAMOS participants, including SOM Firm, Human Scale, LatinX Scholars, IV Couple, Mind and Hand, Metropolitan
Water Reclamation District, Noble Network, Loevy & Loevy Law, E.G. Woode, Chicago Architecture Center, Urban Juncture, and Catholic Charities; and,
WHEREAS, participating 2019 VAMOS youth included Carlos de la Torre of St. Daniel the Prophet Catholic School, Isabella Guzman of Nathan Hale Elementary School, Jeremiah Guzman of Skinner West Elementary School, Cristian Hernandez of Hedges Fine & Performing Arts Academy, Citlali Martinez of Acero Marquez Elementary School, Michelle Martinez of Hedges Fine & Performing Arts Academy, Nefertiti Mora of Kinzie Elementary School, Victoria Morgado of St. Daniel the Prophet Catholic School, Damian Perez of Acero Marquez. Emily Ramirez of Horizon Science Academy/McKinley Park, Esteban Ramirez of Acero Marquez Elementary School, Nuri Trejo of Hedges Fine & Performing Arts Academy, Abril Urbano of Acero Brighton Park Elementary School, Pedro Vega of Horizon Science Academy/McKinley Park, Davian Venegas of St. Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic School, and David Robinson of Chavez Multicultural Academic Center; and,
WHEREAS, participating 2019 VAMOS mentors included Jessica De Jesus of Illinois Institute of Technology, Jiayu Huang of Illinois Institute of Technology, Lorena Diaz of University of Wisconsin-Madison, Naomi Robles of Illinois Institute of Technology, Ralphael Zavala of Illinois Institute of Technology, Wenwen Xie of Illinois Institute of Technology, Lorena Reyes of University of Illinois-Chicago, Milagro O'Grady of Illinois Institute of Technology, Alejandro Martinez of University of Illinois-UC, Aaron Sanchez-Chavez of University of Illinois-Chicago, Osvaldo Vasquez of University of Illinois-Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, participating 2019 VAMOS organizers included Javier Martinez of Illinois Institute of Technology, Roxanne Garcia of IFF, Onix Nava of University of Illinois-UC, Oscar Garcia of Illinois Institute of Technology, Paulina Reyes of Illinois Institute of Technology, Onitze Contreras of Cornell University, Brayan Ballardes of North Central College, Ashley Joaquin of University of Illinois-UC, Guadalupe Gamero of Illinois Institute of Technology, and Wenzhao Zhang of Illinois Institute of Technology; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that we the Mayor and Members of the Chicago City Council, here assembled this eighteenth day of September, 2019, do hereby honor and congratulate Claudette Soto and the VAMOS program participants and mentors on the outstanding completion the 2019 summer program; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be shared with all program participants, mentors and the Illinois Institute of Technology as recognition for their collaboration and continued success in the years to come. -*
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