Meet Kimaya Kimaya is a Black college student who grew up in Woodlawn. She transferred to several elementary schools before starting 7th grade at a magnet school in the South Loop. She graduated from a selective enrollment high school. She is currently a Senior at a 4-year private university in Pennsylvania and…

Meet Michelle Michelle is a Mexican-American and first-generation college student who grew up in Gage Park. She attended neighborhood schools from kindergarten to high school. For middle school, she went to a 6th-8th grade school. She is now a junior at a private liberal arts college in Wisconsin, majoring in Business Economics…

Meet Zayquan Zayquan is a Black college student who grew up in Lawndale. He went to K-8 neighborhood elementary school with a Magnet Cluster program in Lawndale. He defines his 7th and 8th grade years to be his middle grades experience. He is a sophomore studying business management at a private 4-year…

Meet Alejandro Alejandro is a Mexican-American student who grew up in West Lawn. He went to a neighborhood K-8th elementary school for his middle grade years. He is the first in his family to go to college. He is currently a sophomore studying advertising at a 4-year state university in Illinois. On…

Spring is a time of change. Chicago public school (CPS) high school students are preparing for standardized testing, prom, and planning their postsecondary endeavors. For the To&Through Project, spring is a time to celebrate high school graduation, especially for high school students in Chicago. In 2008, the graduation rate for…

In 2022, the To&Through Data and Research team set out to add data on students who are English Learners and students with disabilities to our online tool for the first time. We knew from the start that we wanted to be especially thoughtful about the process. We have access to…

“I’m a handyman. My money is within my own means. Like, if I got my tools, I’m never broke.” Meet Sean Sean grew up on the South Side of Chicago and graduated from a neighborhood high school in the Bronzeville community in 2019. During high school, Sean was the unit commander of…

“Be gentle and patient with yourself… I learned that things take time from this whole college experience.” Meet Syed Syed is a rising sophomore at a two-year college in downtown Chicago. He graduated from high school in Rogers Park during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Rogers Park is known as…

“Whether it be a small community of different artists or a community of peers, I am a firm believer in communities. I feel like they draw the best out of us, they allow us to experience diversity, and they allow us to grow from it.” Meet Elijah Elijah is a rising senior…