Chicago: A Place to Grow

It's pretty common for me to become overly biased about the students that come into my life. I am known for how much I talk about my love for my Engineering Academy students at Richmond High School. So it's only natural that my first blog post begins with the very true, totally unbiased statement that I have the best cohort that a teacher could ever ask for.

Today, my cohort and I met at El Cerrito High School at 3:45 AM. Two hours, many suitcases, a whole lot of red vines, deer running in the street (Raqeeb also running in the street), and a late shuttle later, we arrived at Oakland airport to board our flight to Chicago. Cecilia, Jahnvi, Lindsay, and Raqeeb made our entire boarding process, flight, baggage collection, and shuttle ride to the hotel a complete dream. 

The only hiccups we had the entire day were honestly Raqeeb literally running home to get his forgotten contact lenses and having to wait a little longer for his oversized instrument at Midway (coincidental that both hiccups belong to Raqeeb, I swear!). You would never have expected that these teenagers woke up in the middle of the night and sat through a four-hour flight; traveling together was so smooth and fun.

I'll let the cohort write their own blogs about our awesome, full day in Chicago that involved voluntary walking down architecturally stunning streets and the most easy-going humans making solid, quick and unified decisions. I want to include this instead: I am grateful to have a cohort of three strong young women and one respectful, kind young man. I am going into my fourth year of teaching and almost eighth year working with students. In that time, I have known students from every single age, background, and life. It is a gift to share this experience in Chicago with these particular young people as they learn academically and globally but also grow as individuals. I only hope that I will be able to help them learn along the way!

360 Skydeck from the South Window