https://www.aprilalonsophotography.com/photojournalism daily 0.75 2022-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594072292781-JEAYMS9U9SUTK7AABA39/image-asset.jpeg Photojournalism VICTORIA VILLAGOMEZ “I think it is definitely a bittersweet moment right now due to the situation where we are at but I'm honestly so proud of the fact that I’m closing a chapter and starting a new one. High school is such a big accomplishment and when it’s here it's like huh, I did that. I want to be happy, completely happy whatever the decision I want to make. College is something I always wanted to do since I was little and the environment I grew up with. Especially my dad, that was something he really wanted. Sadly he passed away so he won’t be seeing me cross the stage but that’s definitely something he really wanted to do. I will be attending college in the fall and majoring in psychology and maybe 3-sport athlete in college.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594071157472-QU8EIGRCAT61082OFHX4/20200529_MEHS_Grads_Maria_35.jpg Photojournalism MARIA RAZO “I'm a first generation graduate for high school. So it's really exciting to just kind of start setting up my own path to life. It's really exciting for me and my parents, because we moved to this country a long time ago so the goal was always to just graduate and move up in education and just be successful. The pandemic cut my senior year short and it’s been very disappointing because I missed my last track season and graduation. I didn’t know I was saying goodbye to all my friends for the last time in my high school career but my family is healthy and safe and for that I’m grateful. My best friend, she had AP biology our junior year of high school and she needed two soda bottles. She brought them to school full. We were in the bathroom dumping them down the sink but we felt bad so we just thought, okay, we'll just chug them, it'll be fine. It's just two liters of soda. Then this girl comes out of one of the stalls and sees us chugging the soda. My friend panics and says, ‘You want some soda?’ The girl said, ‘Actually yeah, I'm thirsty I'll take that.’ She took a big chug of it and we were so happy with each other because it was so weird.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594070280721-WSZHW4NWBZHZ8B1ZIR9L/20200529_MEHS_Grads_Brenda_20.jpg Photojournalism BRENDA ZULOAGA “I'm really grateful that I've finally got through high school, because it's just been such a long process…I set out to become summa cum laude, and get the seal of biliteracy. I was able to achieve both of those things. [The pandemic] has sort of stunted some memories that I would have had. I would have gone to spring state for JSA, I would have done senior activities. I wasn't going to go to Six Flags since I'm afraid of roller coasters. I feel like I would have gone through with going to Chuck E. Cheese with friends because it would be very funny to go in like prom dresses and suits to Chuck E. Cheese and just have a fun time with friends.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594070862620-IEWG1EOYW0DF9JKFCIFF/20200529_MEHS_Grads_Dayanna_21.jpg Photojournalism - DAYANNA GONZALEZ DAYANNA GONZALEZ “It’s a great honor that I was actually able to graduate. I’m very proud of myself and my peers because we made it through even though this coronavirus has brought us down we came together and it made us stronger and we were able to finish off. I am planning to become a nurse. I want to give back to the community. I want to be able to help people and the way you treat your patients and the people that work around you, you can have a big impact.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594071039748-O522BQFBNLEPA1P38REW/20200601_MEHS_Grads_Jocelyn_27.jpg Photojournalism JOCELYN “It's a little surreal only because this isn’t the way I expected it to go but nonetheless the school has been trying to keep us happy by getting us a virtual graduation. I’m still happy that I’m graduating. I was friends with a lot of seniors and they would hype up our senior breakfast, the Six Flags trip, graduation and prom. I was very excited to do all these things and I’m an introverted person so I was very excited for all the things I would have done. Since the pandemic happened, we can’t do the things we wanted to do and it left me a little depressed because there goes my final year, but I have some really great friends that have made us all stay positive and at least we get this virtual graduation. I’m hopeful to be successful, make my parents proud for encouraging me so much in school and I want to be a successful person in my own way, not necessarily rich and famous but live up to my own expectations.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594070273660-U6NO601Q871ZJRTU5P6X/20200521_MEHS_Grads_Jennifer_11.jpg Photojournalism JENNIFER GAUCIN “The last day everybody was there [school] was March 12, I thought we were all going to come back Monday. Once it hit April we all knew it was basically over... we were all actually very excited for our last month of high school. I guess just it being taken away was very detrimental because we're never going to get this experience back. I'll be attending a four year university where I want to go into education, where I could help people, teach them or go into pre-med so I could become a doctor. I'm in between either but I'm hopeful that in the future I complete one of those where my parents will live long enough to see me succeed.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594070797736-GVBES6C5D8O0YL78UHOP/20200605_MEHS_Grads_Britney_12.jpg Photojournalism BRITNEY “It feels unreal and overwhelming since I am the first generation to graduate from high school. It feels amazing but at the same time, a lot of pressure. Like a lot of expectations for you and also exciting because of the experience I’m going to gain out of high school is going to be very different and I’m excited to see what the future holds. My family is working class so it is hard for them to keep up with trying to pay bills [during the pandemic]. It’s not impossible, they found their way, it's just harder for them because they depended on their businesses and to know that they can’t because of the virus it is just difficult to keep up with rent or being able to buy food sometimes. My future looks like me being able to do what I love which is acting, dancing, singing while still bringing awareness to situations like social injustice, racism and having to help those in need.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594071401647-HPIP1FCOZMKX0IDLIZ2Y/20200530_MEHS_Grads_Mayra_04.jpg Photojournalism MAYRA ROBLES GOMEZ “I feel like my four years in high school kind of led up to this moment and even though we're not sure about how we're doing graduation, I'm still proud of myself and my friends because we did get through it and we're done. We're moving on to the next chapter in our lives. I'm not a very social person but I found myself like making new friends. Which I'm proud of doing and I'm grateful for because they're people I'm going to carry with me for the rest of my life. I feel like even though it is for me, I feel like a part of me does it for [my parents] because I want them to be proud and I'm grateful for everything they've done for me. Also my teachers, they've all been super supportive and my swimming coaches, I really admire them as well. They shaped me in a lot of ways.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594070567605-M2A0ATUJ08YBZK2ZK9IL/20200605_MEHS_Carla_12.jpg Photojournalism CARLA ACOSTA “I’m really proud of how far I’ve come and me and all my classmates. It feels like high school as a whole just flew by. I remember me and my best friend being freshman and talking about how one day we are going to be older and we had all these goals in mind and we imagined how our senior year would be. Of course that’s not how it went but it feels like freshman year was yesterday. No one imagined that we weren’t going to get to say bye to our teachers in the way we would have wanted to but at the same time, I realized that I am grateful that my family is healthy, that my friends are healthy so I think that really matters. I’m really proud of taking part in a lot of sports. When I turned 16, I got my first job and I was helping around at home and I was doing good in school and sports.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594070708781-NQW5CTE604JK8QVPEVLL/20200529_MEHS_Grads_Marallely_36.jpg Photojournalism MARALLELY GONZALES “At first I was excited but towards the end how it was announced that our school year was cancelled, I felt bummed out because graduation was a big thing to me. For my family graduating was a big thing and not being able to celebrate it during this time was kind of sad. Hopefully after COVID-19 we can go back to school and not start college online but I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter, ending high school and starting college. Especially for hispanic communities, a lot of people don’t have that opportunity and for me going it's a big opportunity. Most of my family didn’t graduate high school so even graduating high school was a big thing and none of my family members actually went to college so this is another big thing.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594070492837-60NOH6T2XCWVJ0PXTBQY/20200601_MEHS_Grads_Naa_19.jpg Photojournalism NAA ASHIFIA ANUM I’m quite excited about graduating because it’s another step towards life. I’m trying to see what the future holds. I’m quite excited [about] going to college. [My] favorite memories are with friends and teachers who have good gatherings. One was when we came on a Saturday to take a test and my teacher even baked goods. It was really touching because she actually set the time to cook for the students when we came on a Saturday. While I’m quite healthy and quite safe, [the pandemic] it’s devastating but at least I’m glad to know our school is doing what they can to make things as easy as possible for us to do everything we had. Also quite happy at least I do get to feel like I graduated and know that there are people around me who share the same thing and are healthy too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594072280393-MBPEVJ7FLHCBC97YROFW/20200530_MEHS_Grads_Ariel_08.jpg Photojournalism ARIEL AVITIA “I'd like to thank my parents—they were my rock. The first ones to push me into making sure that I was good, not overworking myself, but you know, doing everything I could to ensure my success going forward—friends too, they were solid and they stuck around. We just kept pushing each other to try and do what we could and keeping each other in check and that right there just made everything a whole lot better.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594071288075-6OYYAEY971VPE8AVUBEB/20200530_MEHS_Grads_Gaby_34.jpg Photojournalism GABRIELA CORRAL SALAZAR “I have a lot of mixed feelings and even right now I am still processing it. I am proud of my accomplishments and finally graduating but at the same time I feel like I’m missing out on a lot. It was really hard to transition from a school environment to online. It was more difficult now through a screen because we don’t get to experience the same thing as we do in person. A lot of students have thrived through this but the other half, including me struggled to find a routine and to find a place in how to keep going. There are a lot of teachers and mentors at Morton East that made a huge impact on me and they gave me a lot of confidence in my academics. Overall as a person, I feel like I’ve grown out of this shell that I entered with in high school.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1642456775800-MAS4PXUVDWL9J67Q8ATB/20210402_GRC_035.jpg Photojournalism Jorge Saldarriaga and Lucy Angel pose outside Little Village Laundromat on April 2, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. A close friend painted the mural surrounding the walls of the building. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1642456782972-BDMT30HQ8EN58R5ZAGJS/20210417_GRC_065.jpg Photojournalism Members of Grocery Run Club box up fresh produce and canned goods in their West Loop warehouse on April 16, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. The boxes will be brought to Beet Garden in the North Lawndale neighborhood and distributed to local families. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1642456778022-UGHB03FPSC0870MC8UH6/20201219_CLDeepDive_GRC_40.jpg Photojournalism Lucy Angel, center, and Grocery Run Club volunteers carry out the final box drop offs of 2020 on December 19, 2020 in their warehouse on the West Side of Chicago, Ill. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1642456778856-XY5DO6EKWA9AYASV2W2Q/20210417_GRC_050.jpg Photojournalism Jorge Saldarriaga adds collard greens to boxes of fresh produce and canned goods in Grocery Run Club’s West Loop warehouse on April 16, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. The boxes will be brought to Beet Garden in the North Lawndale neighborhood and distributed to local families. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1642456782897-VCL35VTMLXBTUZNA1PL7/20210417_GRC_070.jpg Photojournalism Lucy Angel and Jorge Saldarriaga box up fresh produce and canned goods in Grocery Run Club’s West Loop warehouse on April 16, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. The boxes will be brought to Beet Garden in the North Lawndale neighborhood and distributed to local families. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855361874-UFO5H2NPJ4A8JUA07SMC/20210409_FemmeDefensa_059.jpg Photojournalism Elvira* and Mari Posa* and Pura* of Femme Defensa, and Pura’s daughter work on structuring garden beds on a plot of land in Little Village on April 9, 2021 in Chicago. Ill. This farm will be known as The Ruda Farm, named for a plant with healing capabilities. The farm is created as a sustainable way to provide fresh food. Femme Defensa will use the fresh produce grown at this farm to supply their Free Store in Pilsen. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855271415-NV7POYF3KX8OMK46NCTZ/20210213_CLDeepDive_FemmeDefensa_68.jpg Photojournalism Mari Posa of Femme Defensa gathers produce to give to Pilsen residents who pass by the "Free Store" in collaboration with Pilsen Allliance and the Pilsen Solidarity Network on Feb 13, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. The "Free Store" has fresh and canned food, used clothes, feminine hygiene products and baby necessities. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855125250-AXY7H4VWQIS3X64MN523/20210213_CLDeepDive_FemmeDefensa_02.jpg Photojournalism The "Free Store" offers fresh and canned food, used clothes, feminine hygiene products and baby necessities to residents of the Pilsen neighborhood every Saturday. The store is put together in collaboration between Femme Defensa, Pilsen Alliance and the Pilsen Solidarity Network and is operated in the headquarters of Pilsen Alliance. Taken on Feb 13th, 2021. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855271504-AW53MH1TQN4L044TN4M2/20210213_CLDeepDive_FemmeDefensa_43.jpg Photojournalism The "Free Store" offers fresh and canned food, used clothes, feminine hygiene products and baby necessities to residents of the Pilsen neighborhood every Saturday. The store is put together in collaboration between Femme Defensa, Pilsen Alliance and the Pilsen Solidarity Network and is operated in the headquarters of Pilsen Alliance. Taken on Feb 13th, 2021. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855301292-TQPPIOPHSKZRUPGG5WOM/20210213_CLDeepDive_FemmeDefensa_89.jpg Photojournalism Javier Ruiz and Moisés Moreno of Pilsen Alliance inside their office space during open hours of the “Free Store” on Feb. 13, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855363625-5B7C8H95RVWE9D0EWQYB/20210409_FemmeDefensa_073.jpg Photojournalism Mari Posa and Pura of Femme Defensa and Elvira, a Little Village community member, work on structuring garden beds on a plot of land in Little Village on April 9, 2021 in Chicago. Ill. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855562536-UF9FQO312WUEK28B4Z8Q/20210409_FemmeDefensa_145.jpg Photojournalism Mari Posa and Pura of Femme Defensa and Elvira, a Little Village community member, work on structuring garden beds on a plot of land in Little Village on April 9, 2021 in Chicago. Ill. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855561176-ZE4MWXQ90FFOP2A7W8J7/20210409_FemmeDefensa_116.jpg Photojournalism Mari Posa and Pura of Femme Defensa and Elvira, a Little Village community member, work on structuring garden beds on a plot of land in Little Village on April 9, 2021 in Chicago. Ill. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855563523-P3J43AYGBD4A9PF5LVZ8/20210409_FemmeDefensa_179.jpg Photojournalism Mari Posa and Pura of Femme Defensa and Elvira, a Little Village community member, work on structuring garden beds on a plot of land in Little Village on April 9, 2021 in Chicago. Ill. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855618162-UP7OR7U9WI1L06FJ0ZQ7/20210416_FemmeDefensa_055.jpg Photojournalism Members of Femme Defensa have set up garden beds, a food and clothing donation area, a fridge and a greenhouse at what is called La Ruda Farm of the South on the front lawn of a residence in the South Chicago neighborhood on April 16, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. There is a second location of La Ruda Farm in Little Village. Borderless Magazine / CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855451352-AK7VYH0MS0JL2A7AZF4S/20210409_FemmeDefensa_097.jpg Photojournalism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1641855618848-QPV0VRUV1ZFXKGHIGBQW/20210416_FemmeDefensa_036.jpg Photojournalism Members of Femme Defensa have set up garden beds, a food and clothing donation area, a fridge and a greenhouse at what is called La Ruda Farm of the South on the front lawn of a residence in the South Chicago neighborhood on April 16, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1642456376266-YPDQSYB3RAJRG17XJVSZ/20210403_CarolinaGallo_064.jpg Photojournalism Carolina Gallo at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Living Memorial in Marquette Park on April 3, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. The memorial is significant to Gallo because of the neo-Nazi history of her neighborhood that now memorializes Dr. King. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1642456376611-6D1NSY97XWI4QZGNR2PT/20210403_CarolinaGallo_004.jpg Photojournalism Carolina Gallo works from her home workspace in Chicago Lawn on April 3, 2021 in Chicago, Ill. Gallo is a social worker who during the pandemic has been working between her home and her office. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1642456378471-SUQ0WUK5B32ZD6MJ0M5L/20210403_CarolinaGallo_090.jpg Photojournalism Carolina Gallo uses a variety of tools to make her clients feel comfortable, such as coloring sheets, a hug pillow and others. The coloring sheet pictured says "Community Is Built On Accountability" and is illustrated by Annemarie Barrett of AEB ART. Borderless Magazine/ CatchLight Local https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594072654254-DG10G2VXFVY12XYAORJK/20200605_MEHS_Carla_46.jpg Photojournalism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1550698345296-ATRSQV16LW4LNKA2GYNR/20181114_MentalHealthFunding_CityH_020.JPG Photojournalism Members of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council hold a rally and press conference at City Hall on November 14th, 2018, with city officlals present, to demand a vote on budget amendment to redirect $25 Million to citywide trauma-informed mental health service. Shot for The Chicago Reporter. https://www.aprilalonsophotography.com/multimediavideo daily 0.75 2020-07-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1522892026292-ACGYZT1ZAA1SBVJE6QEI/2016_MMPS_Ivan_147.jpg Multimedia/Video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1522884878063-F8VXL5DXQGU0QNRTCV5F/IMG_4235.jpeg Multimedia/Video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594066752600-3JE836KVHBFFWUIQGFO9/Cicero+Independiente+logo.png Multimedia/Video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594067043263-U9TOOVB8CV3D6JW62PPL/Screen+Shot+2020-07-06+at+3.21.57+PM.png Multimedia/Video https://www.aprilalonsophotography.com/cicero-independiente-gallery daily 0.75 2020-07-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068690164-XZEONCLMRGODTFRN08TA/20200521_MEHS_Grads_Jennifer_11.jpg Cicero Independiente - JENNIFER GAUCIN “The last day everybody was there [school] was March 12, I thought we were all going to come back Monday. Once it hit April we all knew it was basically over... we were all actually very excited for our last month of high school. I guess just it being taken away was very detrimental because we're never going to get this experience back. I'll be attending a four year university where I want to go into education, where I could help people, teach them or go into pre-med so I could become a doctor. I'm in between either but I'm hopeful that in the future I complete one of those where my parents will live long enough to see me succeed.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068690164-XZEONCLMRGODTFRN08TA/20200521_MEHS_Grads_Jennifer_11.jpg Cicero Independiente - JENNIFER GAUCIN “The last day everybody was there [school] was March 12, I thought we were all going to come back Monday. Once it hit April we all knew it was basically over... we were all actually very excited for our last month of high school. I guess just it being taken away was very detrimental because we're never going to get this experience back. I'll be attending a four year university where I want to go into education, where I could help people, teach them or go into pre-med so I could become a doctor. I'm in between either but I'm hopeful that in the future I complete one of those where my parents will live long enough to see me succeed.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068716029-LCPAT5481FY3IIJY22FJ/20200601_MEHS_Grads_Naa_19.jpg Cicero Independiente - NAA ASHIFIA ANUM “I’m quite excited about graduating because it’s another step towards life. I’m trying to see what the future holds. I’m quite excited [about] going to college. [My] favorite memories are with friends and teachers who have good gatherings. One was when we came on a Saturday to take a test and my teacher even baked goods. It was really touching because she actually set the time to cook for the students when we came on a Saturday. While I’m quite healthy and quite safe, [the pandemic] it’s devastating but at least I’m glad to know our school is doing what they can to make things as easy as possible for us to do everything we had. Also quite happy at least I do get to feel like I graduated and know that there are people around me who share the same thing and are healthy too.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068690664-ZDPZVSGTOCPTDFRPH1AS/20200529_MEHS_Grads_Brenda_20.jpg Cicero Independiente - BRENDA ZULOAGA “I'm really grateful that I've finally got through high school, because it's just been such a long process…I set out to become summa cum laude, and get the seal of biliteracy. I was able to achieve both of those things. [The pandemic] has sort of stunted some memories that I would have had. I would have gone to spring state for JSA, I would have done senior activities. I wasn't going to go to Six Flags since I'm afraid of roller coasters. I feel like I would have gone through with going to Chuck E. Cheese with friends because it would be very funny to go in like prom dresses and suits to Chuck E. Cheese and just have a fun time with friends.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068718773-VT6KKG89YNTNAXFLSKCW/20200605_MEHS_Carla_12.jpg Cicero Independiente - CARLA ACOSTA “I’m really proud of how far I’ve come and me and all my classmates. It feels like high school as a whole just flew by. I remember me and my best friend being freshman and talking about how one day we are going to be older and we had all these goals in mind and we imagined how our senior year would be. Of course that’s not how it went but it feels like freshman year was yesterday. No one imagined that we weren’t going to get to say bye to our teachers in the way we would have wanted to but at the same time, I realized that I am grateful that my family is healthy, that my friends are healthy so I think that really matters. I’m really proud of taking part in a lot of sports. When I turned 16, I got my first job and I was helping around at home and I was doing good in school and sports.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068695424-6G50TCU71Q1WKC13BL94/20200529_MEHS_Grads_Marallely_36.jpg Cicero Independiente - MARALLELY GONZALES At first I was excited but towards the end how it was announced that our school year was cancelled, I felt bummed out because graduation was a big thing to me. For my family graduating was a big thing and not being able to celebrate it during this time was kind of sad. Hopefully after COVID-19 we can go back to school and not start college online but I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter, ending high school and starting college. Especially for hispanic communities, a lot of people don’t have that opportunity and for me going it's a big opportunity. Most of my family didn’t graduate high school so even graduating high school was a big thing and none of my family members actually went to college so this is another big thing.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068696031-11OPZ7VZ4E64Z20I17T4/20200529_MEHS_Grads_Dayanna_21.jpg Cicero Independiente - DAYANNA GONZALEZ It’s a great honor that I was actually able to graduate. I’m very proud of myself and my peers because we made it through even though this coronavirus has brought us down we came together and it made us stronger and we were able to finish off. I am planning to become a nurse. I want to give back to the community. I want to be able to help people and the way you treat your patients and the people that work around you, you can have a big impact.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068724737-OD8B5KHL7CUOU704NRBQ/20200605_MEHS_Grads_Britney_12.jpg Cicero Independiente - BRITNEY “It feels unreal and overwhelming since I am the first generation to graduate from high school. It feels amazing but at the same time, a lot of pressure. Like a lot of expectations for you and also exciting because of the experience I’m going to gain out of high school is going to be very different and I’m excited to see what the future holds. My family is working class so it is hard for them to keep up with trying to pay bills [during the pandemic]. It’s not impossible, they found their way, it's just harder for them because they depended on their businesses and to know that they can’t because of the virus it is just difficult to keep up with rent or being able to buy food sometimes. My future looks like me being able to do what I love which is acting, dancing, singing while still bringing awareness to situations like social injustice, racism and having to help those in need.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068699863-0IJDF8BO9FMZQS7SM7U5/20200529_MEHS_Grads_Maria_35.jpg Cicero Independiente - MARIA RAZO “I'm a first generation graduate for high school. So it's really exciting to just kind of start setting up my own path to life. It's really exciting for me and my parents, because we moved to this country a long time ago so the goal was always to just graduate and move up in education and just be successful. The pandemic cut my senior year short and it’s been very disappointing because I missed my last track season and graduation. I didn’t know I was saying goodbye to all my friends for the last time in my high school career but my family is healthy and safe and for that I’m grateful. My best friend, she had AP biology our junior year of high school and she needed two soda bottles. She brought them to school full. We were in the bathroom dumping them down the sink but we felt bad so we just thought, okay, we'll just chug them, it'll be fine. It's just two liters of soda. Then this girl comes out of one of the stalls and sees us chugging the soda. My friend panics and says, ‘You want some soda?’ The girl said, ‘Actually yeah, I'm thirsty I'll take that.’ She took a big chug of it and we were so happy with each other because it was so weird.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068713804-WSJ18BDWZ3H8425A22M0/20200601_MEHS_Grads_Jocelyn_27.jpg Cicero Independiente - JOCELYN “It's a little surreal only because this isn’t the way I expected it to go but nonetheless the school has been trying to keep us happy by getting us a virtual graduation. I’m still happy that I’m graduating. I was friends with a lot of seniors and they would hype up our senior breakfast, the Six Flags trip, graduation and prom. I was very excited to do all these things and I’m an introverted person so I was very excited for all the things I would have done. Since the pandemic happened, we can’t do the things we wanted to do and it left me a little depressed because there goes my final year, but I have some really great friends that have made us all stay positive and at least we get this virtual graduation. I’m hopeful to be successful, make my parents proud for encouraging me so much in school and I want to be a successful person in my own way, not necessarily rich and famous but live up to my own expectations.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068708259-HA97XVDRUHA7MZAN3IQU/20200530_MEHS_Grads_Mayra_04.jpg Cicero Independiente - MAYRA ROBLES GOMEZ “I feel like my four years in high school kind of led up to this moment and even though we're not sure about how we're doing graduation, I'm still proud of myself and my friends because we did get through it and we're done. We're moving on to the next chapter in our lives. I'm not a very social person but I found myself like making new friends. Which I'm proud of doing and I'm grateful for because they're people I'm going to carry with me for the rest of my life. I feel like even though it is for me, I feel like a part of me does it for [my parents] because I want them to be proud and I'm grateful for everything they've done for me. Also my teachers, they've all been super supportive and my swimming coaches, I really admire them as well. They shaped me in a lot of ways.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068699805-N9QV0VULTVXVHYHDKS99/20200530_MEHS_Grads_Ariel_08.jpg Cicero Independiente - ARIEL AVITIA “I'd like to thank my parents—they were my rock. The first ones to push me into making sure that I was good, not overworking myself, but you know, doing everything I could to ensure my success going forward—friends too, they were solid and they stuck around. We just kept pushing each other to try and do what we could and keeping each other in check and that right there just made everything a whole lot better.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068708857-H6EB94FTJ3A867N0JX2F/20200530_MEHS_Grads_Gaby_34.jpg Cicero Independiente - GABRIELA CORRAL SALAZAR “I have a lot of mixed feelings and even right now I am still processing it. I am proud of my accomplishments and finally graduating but at the same time I feel like I’m missing out on a lot. It was really hard to transition from a school environment to online. It was more difficult now through a screen because we don’t get to experience the same thing as we do in person. A lot of students have thrived through this but the other half, including me struggled to find a routine and to find a place in how to keep going. There are a lot of teachers and mentors at Morton East that made a huge impact on me and they gave me a lot of confidence in my academics. Overall as a person, I feel like I’ve grown out of this shell that I entered with in high school.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1594068712577-8PU51304K46MRGRTZV6U/20200530_MEHS_Grads_Vicky_10.jpg Cicero Independiente - VICTORIA VILLAGOMEZ “I think it is definitely a bittersweet moment right now due to the situation where we are at but I'm honestly so proud of the fact that I’m closing a chapter and starting a new one. High school is such a big accomplishment and when it’s here it's like huh, I did that. I want to be happy, completely happy whatever the decision I want to make. College is something I always wanted to do since I was little and the environment I grew up with. Especially my dad, that was something he really wanted. Sadly he passed away so he won’t be seeing me cross the stage but that’s definitely something he really wanted to do. I will be attending college in the fall and majoring in psychology and maybe 3-sport athlete in college.” https://www.aprilalonsophotography.com/foto-chronicle daily 0.75 2022-01-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1522898348103-O3S91NBIY98UCOF6UPMQ/2015_IntroPJ_525-Edit.jpg Foto Chronicle A couple dressed together at el Día de los Muertos event at the National Musuem of Mexican Art in Pilsen on November 1st, 2015. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1519348459188-2H54B1ENM9WGNU6HZGD5/0917_MexInd_Parade_01.jpg Foto Chronicle A man waves his Mexican Flag on the corner of 59th Ct and Cermak during the Mexican Independence Day Parade, also known as El Grito, took place in Cicero, IL on Sunday September 17th, 2017. https://www.aprilalonsophotography.com/cover-page daily 1.0 2022-01-10 https://www.aprilalonsophotography.com/new-page daily 0.75 2020-07-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a545486a9db095da99d6af1/1522897063320-82BG487S0Q46UFOREWKE/LOGO_PURPLE-AA_LOGO.png About & Contact https://www.aprilalonsophotography.com/publications daily 0.75 2020-07-06