Southland College Prep students win scholarships to NU, Brown
Rickaiya Bernard and Mofoluwake Arogundade, students at Southland College Prep Charter High School in Richton Park, have earned full-tuition scholarships totaling more than $750,000 through the QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship program.
The scholarship includes room and board, books, supplies and travel fees as well as tuition. Arogundade has been matched to Brown University, and Bernard has been matched to Northwestern University. The young women, both immigrants, were chosen from more than 25,500 applicants.
Arogundade, of Park Forest, plans to major in biomedical engineering. She was president of the Spanish Club, on the track team and participated in the Finance Club and Model UN.
She hopes to create medical devices to stop strokes and heart attacks because her father, Adebayo Arogundade, who came to the United States from Nigeria, died from a stroke in 2019 when she was 12 years old. Her mother, Rachel Taiwo, emigrated from Nigeria when she was 16 years old.
Bernard, of Olympia Fields, plans to study biology on a premed track to eventually become a forensic pathologist so she can be a “detective” and doctor at the same time. Her parents, Richard and Ceava Bernard, came to the United States from Jamaica.
Among her accomplishments, Bernard is a mentor for underclassmen in the school’s mentorship program, medal-winning competitor on the Speech Team, is head drum major of the 130-member Southland Ambassador Marching Band and plays clarinet in the concert band and wind ensemble. She has participated in Student Council and the basketball, volleyball and track teams.
Fiber artist displays work at Moraine Valley art gallery
The exhibit “Structure & Color” by contemporary fiber artist Heather Macali is on display through March 2 in the Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery in the Moraine Valley Community College Fine and Performing Arts Center.
The show features work exploring the “psychology of limitations” through the medium of a single weave pattern. Her pieces “consider color theory, optical blending, architectural components and yield inspiration from op-art and pop art,” a news release notes.
Macali worked in the fashion industry as a print and pattern designer at Abercrombie & Fitch as well as La Senza. She has a bachelor’s degree in crafts from Kent State University and a master’s degree in textiles from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The fiber artist and Wayne State University professor lives in Detroit.
Admission to the gallery is free. It’s open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information, call 708-974-5500.
Learn about Underground Railroad at celebration
The Midwest Underground Railroad Network hosts a free Black History Month celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 21 at First Reformed Church, 15924 S. Park Ave., South Holland.
Attendees can meet members of the network, formerly known as the Little Calumet River Underground Railroad Project, as well as learn about the activities of the Underground Railroad in the area. History, music, drama and storytelling will be included. Information is available at 773-370-3305.
Second Southwest Job Fair drew ‘enthusiastic participation’
More than 1,200 job seekers and more than 100 employers participated in the second annual Southwest Job Fair held in January at the Tinley Park Convention Center.
Attendees could submit resumes, engage in interviews on the spot and learn about positions and career paths in a variety of fields, such as food and hospitality, education, manufacturing, health care and finance.
Government agencies included Forest Preserves of Cook County, DuPage County Health Department, Cook County sheriff’s office, other Cook County departments and police departments in Chicago, Tinley Park, Palos Heights and Orland Park.
Mock interviews, professional headshots and individual meetings with human resource professionals were included. Attendees were entered in a raffle for backpacks, laptop computers and gas and gift cards.
Caregivers gain support via Zoom with Pathlights
Pathlights hosts two free support groups via Zoom this month. Caregivers Connecting meets at 10 a.m. Feb. 19, and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group meets at 11 a.m. Feb. 24.
Caregivers Connecting meets monthly and provides a forum to talk with others in similar situations, sharing experiences and receiving words of advice and encouragement.
The grandparents group aims to provide encouragement, inspiration and education and resources available for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.
To register to receive the link for either Zoom session, visit pathlights.org. Information is at 708-361-0219.
Police T-shirt quilt raffled as part of pancake breakfast
A police-themed quilt created by Mount Greenwood resident Jean Ricker will be raffled off as part of Ald. Matt O’Shea’s Get Behind the Vest Pancake Breakfast, set for 8 a.m. to noon Feb. 23 at St. John Fisher’s Kane Hall, 10300 S. Washtenaw, Chicago.
The quilt, 6.5 feet by 6.5 feet, is made up of Chicago Police Department T-shirts. Raffle tickets cost $5 for one or $20 for five. Buy them by visiting the19thward.com or at the breakfast. The winner needn’t be present.
The breakfast, in its 11th year, has raised more than $680,000 for the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation’s Get Behind the Vest initiative, which buys bulletproof vests for officers in the CPD. Admission is $5 per person or $25 for families, which includes all-you-can eat pancakes and sausages donated by the Harrigan family, owners of the Original Pancake House in Beverly.
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