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Chicago Tribune
19-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Waukegan High seniors talk about goals at graduation; ‘I want to make the world a better place'
Most of the 897 members of the Waukegan High School Class of 2025 walked across the stage to receive their diplomas as they embark on the next step in their journey, be it at an elite college, in the military or the start of a career. Class valedictorian Brandon Aguilar started working as a sales associate at a home improvement store at age 14. He said he gave it the same energy as he put into his studies, which gave him the highest grade-point average among his classmates. Wanting to remain close to his family, Aguilar said he will attend Northwestern University in Evanston in the fall. He plans to study mechanical engineering so he can learn how to make things and make them work better. 'I want to make the world a better place,' he said after the event. 'Engineers are the ones who make things work. They change the world.' Aguilar and his classmates received their diplomas at the 152nd-annual Waukegan High School graduation Friday at Weiss Field, with thousands in the stands as graduates step into the world of adulthood. Just as many of the students had their successes and rough spots during their four years of high school, the afternoon and early evening presented its own challenges. It was windy and sunny when the students marched onto the field. Some put their hands on their caps to keep them in place. Before the ceremony was over, there was light rain, three intermittent downpours and more sunshine. There was pleasant weather again as they left the stadium. Scores stood for pictures as family and friends memorialized the occasion. Waukegan missed the dust storm that engulfed other parts of Lake County on Friday. Senior class President Lamero Ceaser will attend Augustana College — a school just over half the size of Waukegan High School — in Rock Island in the fall. Planning to wrestle, he said he wants an environment with a tight community. 'I like knowing everybody around me,' he said. 'I like having a community where everyone can be included.' 'I'll be back here in Waukegan,' he added, referring to his goal of eventually practicing law in his hometown. Speaking to the crowd, Ceaser said graduation is a time to say hello and goodbye all at once. Whether his classmates are continuing their education or embarking on a career, the situation is the same. 'As freshmen, we came in full of unknowns,' he said. 'We will leave here today with that same feeling, only geared at a much bigger world beyond the walls in which we have spent our last four years.' During his valedictory address, Aguilar first read a paragraph in English and then repeated it in Spanish — the native tongue of his parents. He talked about how his entire family contributed to his success. Singling out his father, he said he is, 'the man who taught me to be hard-working, the man who taught me to never throw in the towel, and the man who dedicated his whole life for his family to succeed.' Aguilar said experience taught the graduates the most valuable lessons. Admitting to making mistakes, learning from them creates strength, he said. 'Experience teaches us something that no textbook could teach us — life will take turns on us, and we won't always have all the answers, but slipping is only part of this journey,' he said. 'We've all made mistakes. Mistakes don't define a person, but rather how you learn from them.' Frida Arenas sat among her classmates wearing three medals and seven rows of ribbons on her purple gown. She said they were for her efforts and leadership with the school's JROTC program. She plans to go to the College of Lake County to study nursing. 'I want to make a difference,' Arenas said. 'There aren't a lot of nurses from the Hispanic community. I want to help my community.' Marilyn Alvir had a scarf draped around her with multicolored lines across the material, a cross and words in Spanish. It also had the words 'Class of 2025.' Several senior women were wearing them. 'This is for my Hispanic culture,' said Alvir, who plans to study political science at CLC. 'I am proud of my parents and everything they've done to help me get to this stage.' Danai Serna-Jimenez offered her senior classmates some advice as the featured speaker. She said they should not fear what may lie ahead. Embracing the present will help transport them into the reality of the future. 'We're always adjusting, whether we realize it or not,' Serna-Jimenez said. 'To live is to adapt, and it is okay to be afraid because that is what makes us human. The ability to hold both joy and sorrow is something we learn — and take with us wherever we go.'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rock Island's College Hill District plans for future development
Augustana College and the City of Rock Island are teaming up with businesses and citizens to advance mixed-use retail, residential and neighborhood improvements in the College Hill District. They hope to create a more vibrant, walkable and economically dynamic neighborhood that serves Rock Island residents and Augustana students. The Hilltop Community Development Corporation (CDC) is a newly formed initiative to promote growth near the edges of Augustana's campus. A CDC is a nonprofit, community-focused organization that fosters revitalization by investing in housing, small businesses and neighborhood infrastructure. The CDC is part of Augustana's Bold & Boundless Strategic Plan and aligns with the college's commitment to connecting through partnerships, enhancing neighborhood vitality and activating campus edges, as recommended in the Campus Master Plan. The Hilltop CDC has purchased its first property, the former Curry-Out QC restaurant at 1407 30th Street that will be developed for mixed business and residential use. The property is a five-minute walk from the southern edge of Augustana's campus. The building has undergone an environmental review and is scheduled for removal this quarter. The College Hill District was founded in 2011 and is a walkable neighborhood that includes restaurants and businesses such as Fred & Ethel's 50's Antiques, Happy Joe's Pizza and Ice Cream and Kavanaugh's Hilltop Bar & Grill. The district has hosted events including College Hill-o-Ween, Small Business Saturday shopping days, Christmas walks and retro car rallies. 'Augustana is thrilled to join with city and community partners to bolster economic, architectural and community-building initiatives in the College Hill area and to work together to seek solutions to meet the needs of the district,' said Augustana president Andrea Talentino. 'We want to be a strong partner in making Rock Island a valued place to live and work. Augustana is proud to call Rock Island home, and we're proud to unite to create a more vibrant and thriving hub for the benefit of our students and the community.' 'As a community member, it's encouraging to see Augustana stepping up as a thoughtful and engaged neighbor,' said Jeff Rose, a resident of the College Hill District. 'This initiative isn't just about buildings — it's about creating a place where people feel connected, supported and proud to live. The CDC is helping us imagine what's possible for the Hilltop.' 'Augustana has been a wonderful partner for many years, and we're very pleased to join them in this new initiative to bring increased resources, housing and storefronts to the College Hill District,' said Rock Island mayor Mike Thoms. 'We're excited to contribute to future-focused planning for Rock Islanders and the college.' 'The CDC will develop and prioritize projects with an emphasis on serving the College Hill District, including mixed-use redevelopment and attracting small businesses with a focus on food and beverage or retail,' said Kirk Anderson, chief financial officer at Augustana. 'The CDC's projected 2026 operating budget exceeds $90,000 through grants and philanthropic gifts, demonstrating strong early investment in the district's revitalization. We know the investments of the CDC will have a great impact on enhancing Rock Island and our region. These efforts will support job creation, strengthen local businesses and enhance quality of life for residents and students alike.' Anderson said the CDC will work on several goals to redevelop and expand quality housing opportunities, such as Augustana employee rental housing and campus-adjacent housing for Augustana seniors and Rock Island residents. The group also plans neighborhood identity and signage improvements. The college has worked with Rock Island on many projects, including creating a $1.5 million tennis court complex at Lincoln Park at 38th Street and 11th Avenue. The project includes leasing that section of the park to the college for 10 years. Over the next three years, the CDC hopes to create vibrant commercial spaces, improve housing access for residents and students and support Rock Island's growth. 'This is more than a symbolic gesture, it's a real investment in Rock Island's future,' Thoms said. 'With new infrastructure, commercial space and housing in the pipeline, the Hilltop CDC is setting a bold tone for the next chapter of neighborhood growth.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Holocaust survivor will speak at Yom HaShoah, Rock Island
The 44th Annual Quad Cities Holocaust Remembrance, known as Yom HaShoah, will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 27, at Wallenberg Hall in Augustana College's Denkmann Building, 3520 7th Ave., Rock Island, according to a news release. The speaker for this year's community-wide commemoration will be Marion Blumenthal, Holocaust survivor and author of the book 'Four Perfect Pebbles,' which tells the story of her family's persecution by Nazi Germany and its allies. Marion Blumentha's story of survival After Hitler's rise to power, the Blumenthal family – father, mother, Marion, and her brother, Albert – were trapped in Nazi Germany. They managed eventually to get to Holland only shortly before it was occupied by the Nazis. She will address this year's remembrance remotely. For the next six and a half years, the Blumenthals were forced to live in refugee, transit, and prison camps. These included the Westerbork transit camp in Holland, from which Anne Frank was sent to her death at Auschwitz, and the notorious Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Atlhough they all somehow survived the camps, Walter Blumenthal, Marion's father, succumbed to typhus just after the camp's liberation on April 15, 1945. It took three more years of struggle and waiting before Marion, Albert, and their mother at last obtained the necessary papers and boarded ship for the United States. Their story is one of horror and hardship, but it is also a story of courage, hope, and the will to survive. Today Marion Blumenthal Lazan lives in New York with her husband, Nathaniel. They have three married children, nine grandchildren and two great-granddaughters. As part of the annual observance, memorial candles are lit for the six million Jews – and millions of others – who were murdered by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II. The Yom HaShoah Committee is comprised of community leaders and representatives from the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, Augustana College and St. Ambrose University. In addition to the live event at Wallenberg Hall, it can be streamed using a link you'll find here. About the Holocaust Before World War II, about 8.7 million Jews lived in Europe. By war's end, some six million of them had been systematically murdered by Nazi Germany and its allies. A crime of such horrendous proportions could not have been perpetrated in a vacuum. Centuries of anti-Jewish teachings – either promulgated or countenanced by churches and states – created fertile ground for the seed of Nazi hatred to flourish. The people of Europe had been conditioned to despise Jews and see them as something less than human. Thus, they could rationalize the elimination of the Jews not as murder, but as the removal of an unwelcome element of their society. Millions of people from many ethnic backgrounds were killed in Nazi extermination camps, but Adolf Hitler ordered ferocious intensity be brought to bear in reaching his goal of destroying the Jewish people. In his terminology, it was the 'final solution to the Jewish problem.' The murder of six million Jews, including one and a half million children, has indelibly etched the names of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, Treblinka and many more camps into the memories of the generation that witnessed the Holocaust and those who have learned of it since. About Yom HaShoah Yom HaShoah, or 'Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust,' occurs every year in communities around the world. While it is primarily observed by Jews, it is by no means an exclusive commemoration – as witnessed by the community-wide event held in the Quad Cities. In the Quad Cities as elsewhere, the Holocaust is remember not simply because it is a Jewish tragedy. Twelve million innocent human beings, six million of them Jews, were murdered by the Nazis. Yom HaShoah seeks to ensure that a crime of such proportions will never be allowed to happen again. In the Quad Cities, Yom HaShoah has been observed annually since 1982. In addition to the memorial service, the planning committee works with the Quad Cities Holocaust Education Committee to present awards to local students for research and creative work exploring or responding to the Holocaust. For more information, call the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities at 309-793-1300, or email aross@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Augustana will host lecture on ‘Civil Rights & the Jews of Selma Alabama'
From 7-8 p.m. Thursday, April 3, Augustana College will present the Stone Lectureship in Judaism hosted by Amy K. Milligan, Ph.D., at the Olin Center Auditorium, 733 35th St., Rock Island. The lecture is free and open to the public. To watch the live stream as well and for more information, click here. The presentation will talk about the history of Jewish life in Selma, Alabama. Speaker Milligan will talk about the narratives retold by the community and explore complex history. Milligan is the Batten Endowed Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and Women's Gender Studies and the director of the institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding at Old Dominion University. She is the author of two books about Jewish culture and history. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Augustana to host annual Stone Lectureship in Judaism
Augustana College will host the annual Stone Lectureship in Judaism, 'Navigating history: Civil Rights and the Jews of Selma Alabama,' on Thursday, April 3 from 7 to 8 p.m. The presentation will take place in the Olin Auditorium. It is free and open to the public and will be live streamed. The Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities will provide refreshments. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
