JILG Featured School:
Benito Juarez High School
Jobs for Illinois Graduates (JILG) is proud to feature Benito Juarez Community Academy. Juarez is located in Chicago. Benito Juarez Community Academy is named for the self-educated Zapotec Indian who became the President of Mexico, whose top priorities were democracy and education. Juarez serves the predominantly Mexican Pilsen community. There are currently about 1550 students enrolled in the school.
Currently, the JILG program at Juarez served 42 students on its’ In-School roster, and 43 Follow-up students from the Class of 2007.
Vanessa Puentes is doing an excellent job, in only her second year with the JILG program. Although the JILG program has been at Juarez in the past, it began again last year after a few years on hiatus. The program serves high school seniors who are looking for skills that will prepare them for life after graduation.
During last school year, Juarez JILG brought in guest speakers from all over the City of Chicago to speak to students. They also attended numerous fieldtrips. To name a few: the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute’s Annual College Fair; Cubs games; White Sox Games; Malcolm X/UIC College Resource Fair and the West Side Tech Career Fair. The Juarez I & I ceremony was held at the National Museum of Mexican Art. Students also completed two service learning projects that benefited the Pilsen community. This year, Juarez is collaborating with two different organizations to promote service learning and job skills. One organization is “Building with Books,” a club at Juarez that believes in the power of service learning, and is raising funds to build schools in third world countries. We are also working with the Youth Career Development Center to bring a Job Readiness Training Program to Juarez.
About the Specialist
Vanessa Puentes has been in education for 2 ½ years. She actually student taught at Juarez and was hired immediately after student teaching, so she is beginning her third year at Juarez. Vanessa is beginning her second year as a JILG Career Specialist. Ms. Puentes attended DePaul University in Chicago and received her Bachelors of Arts in Secondary Education with a Concentration in English.
Vanessa best moment was when: “During our I & I Ceremony last year, the JILG officers unexpectedly presented me with a bouquet of flowers and made a touching speech of appreciation for the program and me.”