High school students who live or attend school on Chicago’s West and Southwest sides can get free, one-on-one help with their college application essays at upcoming workshops on Nov. 7 and Nov. 14. The program is hosted by Open Books and the University of Illinois Chicago at Open Books’ North Lawndale location, 3812 W. 16th St.
Paula Santos is the director of education at Open Books, a Chicago-based nonprofit literacy organization that promotes reading and writing by expanding access to books and literacy resources for children, families and communities.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations with stakeholders, both formally and informally through our events and programs. One thing that keeps coming up is how young people in the community need support with their writing,” Santos said.
Taykhoom Biviji is the assistant director of the Office of Community Collaboration at the University of Illinois Chicago, which works to expand access to higher education in communities including North Lawndale and Auburn Gresham.
“I want the resources to be in communities where young people live and for them to see their peers having those same aspirations or questions. It’s just a part of creating these book-rich, literacy-rich environments,” Santos said.
Biviji partnered with Open Books to develop college essay-writing workshops, with mentors from UIC’s College of Education and Teach for Chicago Tomorrow, a Chicago Public Schools initiative that helps local high school graduates become teachers in the district.
“The Office of Community Collaboration has been in the North Lawndale neighborhood since 2022. The office is a place-based initiative. We are in North Lawndale and Auburn Gresham on the South Side. Our mission is to increase Black student enrollment and retention in higher education at UIC and other colleges as well. We want to support students seeking higher education and expose them to opportunities, including scholarships and GED prep,” Biviji said.
Attendees can expect a brief group introduction followed by individualized, one-on-one mentoring conversations focused on writing and college application essays.
“When Paula and I started talking, I was really inspired by their ongoing reading support programs at the center. Other teachers, including CPS teachers in the community, had already talked to me about the programs and said how great they were. I wanted to figure out how we could partner together, and through our conversations, we came to essay writing,” Biviji said.
The mentors will work directly with students to help them develop their writing skills and become more comfortable expressing their experiences and ideas.
“We want to work with students who may never have been asked, ‘What college do you want to go to?’ There will always be students who are at the top of their class, whatever high school they attend. They’re very motivated and amazing, and we want to support them,” Santos said.
She said that writing support extends beyond schoolwork to practical needs such as scholarship applications, job applications and college admissions. However, these needs do not fit neatly into Open Books’ existing programs, which primarily focuses on early childhood literacy, school-based initiatives and after-school programs.
“It’s always been something that’s been in the back of my mind and is very dear to my heart, based on my own experience as a young person. So when Taekhoom connected with me about potentially working together, we talked about what they were trying to achieve through their community work,” Santos said.
The goal is to help students in North Lawndale see college as an accessible and realistic opportunity, especially since the university is only a few miles from North Lawndale.
Open Books has partnered with the University of Illinois Chicago over the past few years through its after-school program, with the university helping provide additional resources for middle school students. The collaboration has focused on community engagement and supporting young people before they transition to higher education.
“Some of these programs are also ways for students to see what’s possible. Books provide a world outside of your everyday life and give you a chance to see new possibilities. I think our partnership, along with bringing other UIC students into the neighborhood and providing one-on-one mentorship, also opens students up to more possibilities,” Santos said.
Students can register for upcoming sessions at open-books.org/carp.