In Case You Missed It

MLK Day of Service

It was great to see a group of LINK Mentors and Mentees come together to volunteer at Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange on January 20 for the MLK Day of Service! CCRx is a one-of-a-kind store dedicated to the reduction of material waste and the creative reuse of resources that would otherwise be discarded. The store is a valuable resource to Chicago teachers, artists, and nonprofits looking to find new life in surplus materials, supplies, and equipment.

Mentors and Mentees spent their time organizing and stocking donated materials. As one Mentor said, “I absolutely think that doing acts of service, especially for MLK Day, is important for everyone. I think it’s good for Mentees to see their Mentors involved in these kinds of activities.” 

Special thanks to everyone who participated!

Our Class of 2025 Scholars enjoyed a stimulating and thought-provoking Senior Retreat in February. Here are some of the activities they experienced:

• Role-Playing: Scholars were asked to roleplay three characters in scenarios that could happen when they go to college.
• Yearbook Notes: Scholars passed around journals and wrote encouraging and uplifting notes to each other.
• Vision Boards: Scholars grabbed words, letters, and magazine photos to describe how they see themselves in the future.

During lunch and the game time, Scholars enjoyed having free time to relax and socialize. Most ate quickly and went straight into some feisty games of UNO!

Scholar Addison Belhomme commented on the “power of coming together” at the retreat. She also remarked on the Black History Month theme. “Black History Month…is used to reeducate the new generations on the history of what our people have done and also celebrate all the accomplishments we’ve made this far.”

Scholar Dominick Ducree remarked on how LINK empowers Black individuals. “At LINK, they stress to ‘Be You Times 10,’” he said. “It’s okay to be who we are; we don’t have to take anything from anybody.”

Thanks to all of our Senior Scholars who participated in the retreat!

The Class of 2026 Scholars spent an eye-opening day of challenge and growth designed to build essential skills for higher education success at their Junior Retreat in March. They focused on three key areas:

1. Collaborative Leadership: During a path-memory challenge, Scholars worked together despite individual incentives. “Even though only one person would win the prize, we had to work as a team,” one Scholar noted.

2. Communication Adaptability: Scholars completed puzzles without speaking and built bridges with just straws, tape, and cotton balls, developing flexible problem-solving approaches for diverse academic environments.

3. Identity Affirmation: Through shared experience exercises, Scholars strengthened their connections and sense of belonging—a factor consistently linked to college persistence.

Connections formed as Scholars shared personal stories about school experiences and discovered what they have in common with their peers. They tackled challenges that pushed their collaboration skills to new levels, as every activity built important skills for their future. As one scholar reflected, “Sometimes we need to take a step back to move forward.” This combination of self-awareness and practical skill development creates powerful preparation for collegiate success.

Congratulations, Junior Scholars, on a job well done!

SATURDAY ACADEMY RECAPS

February Saturday Academy

Our February Saturday Academy was an exciting Career Exploration Day with the theme of M.I.R.R.O.R.S.: Motivation through Inspiration, Representation, Role models, Opportunities, and Real Stories. Scholars had the opportunity to engage with industry experts from the fields of education, technology, healthcare and medicine, nonprofits, engineering and design, business, finance, entrepreneurship, law and social justice, STEM, media and communications, and the arts!

Presenters shared wisdom and knowledge through panel discussions and individual presentations, some with hands-on activities:

• Cosmetic chemist Nikisha Horn, who had Scholars create and market their own lotion in her session. 
• Educator Kia Banks had Scholars roleplay as chief of staff for the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association. Scholars worked in groups to address hypothetical dilemmas that Banks has seen come up in her career. 
• Journalist Adrienne Samuels Gibbs shared her experience as a Black journalist. After moving to Boston, she discovered that Black neighborhoods were not represented on maps. She talked to local cartographers, gathered evidence, and built a new story around the issue.

During the day’s closing seminar, students were asked: How do you see Black history represented in your daily life? One scholar replied, “A lot of things we use on a day-to-day basis were made by Black people, like traffic lights. That’s one of the most important innovations in history. It was created by a Black person and a lot of people don’t know that!”

Our March Saturday Academy was a little different than usual, in that our seniors participated in retreat and our Jr. LINK Scholars went on a college visit to Loyola—their first of the year. The remaining Scholars met with their instructors and reflected on the previous Saturday Academy, which was centered around career development. Scholars spent some time doing self-assessment and group activities—particularly answering “would you rather” questions that focused on self-perception and real-life application.

Also, each cohort was introduced to their Capstone Project, which involves designing a PowerPoint presentation for the next Saturday Academy which will showcase their interests and goals in relation to the prompt they choose.

• Self-exploration and Identity: Scholars can present their four-year plan or present on who they are. This promotes the understanding of self and the need for planning ahead for what Scholars want for their future.
• Career Exploration: Each junior Scholar is tasked with either completing a job shadow or four informational interviews in order to create a short presentation on the career field they are learning more about.
• “Be the Change”: This prompt focuses on Scholars identifying their values, selecting a social justice issue/cause they would like to address, and presenting a plan to do so.

Scholars completed guided worksheets to organize their thoughts, including brainstorming ideas, identifying key ideas and challenges, and designing goals and strategies to achieve their goals. They enjoyed getting into groups to share their project outlines, exchanging feedback and lots of conversation and laughter.