Brian Perea

Brian is a Junior at Kelvyn Park High School. Brian has short hair, and is short and stocky. Brian also has a great attitude because he helps the community get better.

Brian works in the community to make a difference. He works with LSNA in a program called VOYCE. In VOYCE, they research why students drop out of high school. When he was working on the issue why people drop out and other community issues, Brian got to meet a lot of people (like politicians) in the city. Brian started to work with LSNA last year on the issues of the community.

In general, Brian is a shy person. He is shy because he does not like speak in front of people. Brian is athletic and likes to play sports, including football.

Brian’s heroes are his parents. Also, one of his heroes is Juliet de Jesus Alejandre from LSNA. They helped him learn life lessons, and about life in the city.

Brian is a hero because when he works he is very focused on what he is doing. He is dedicated to helping others, even people he doesn’t know. Brian is a hero because he is working on a real-life issue on why students drop out. And he is only 16, so he is making a difference.

Luis Lopez SJA

Leticia Barrera

Leticia Barrera is an education organizer. She helps in the Logan Square community. She has a family: 2 boys and 1 girl. Leticia is happy to be married because her husband supports her a lot in her work. She has spent six years working with LSNA. Leticia works with different groups to improve and help the community. The person that inspires Leticia the most is her mom because she inspired her to never give up, and to go through with her work in life. While she was living in Mexico, she was a teacher. She went to college, and she’s studying to be a bilingual teacher. She was an immigrant from Mexico, but came to the USA at early age. In 1991, she came to Chicago with no job and didn’t know how to speak English. I believe Leticia is a hero because she helps the community out.

Written By: Mario Salgado

Maria Alviso

Maria Alviso works with LSNA in projects that involve parents and young teens. Her job helps many people, helping them make a difference in life. She loves to see people accomplish their goals and feel great at the same time. The fact that she is a Latina who is making some thing good out of her life is inspiring. One challenging part of her job is building new relationships with different people because they have different personalities. When I asked Maria what is her definition of a hero she replied “a hero is someone who helps people stay committed." If she could change one thing in society it would be racism. In Maria’s spare time she reads or watches a movie. One thing that she wants to accomplish is being a bilingual teacher, that’s what she always wanted to do. A word of advice from Maria is “keep your head up." To me Maria is a hero because she helps people stay committed.

maria alviso

Maria has been working with parents and teenagers for years. She has been working with LSNA with helping people in the Logan Square neighborhood. She works in a school and helps kids during after-school hours. She says she loves her work because she likes helping people. In all the years she has worked with people in the community, the most challenging part is when people don’t understand what she is trying to do.
Maria seems to be a funny and outgoing person. She loves to watch TV and spend time with her family . Even in her free time she helps her bilingual people.
Maria believes that a hero is someone who is committed to their work and who helps regardless of the situation. To me, Maria is truly an hero because she is committed to what she does and loves it. People will look up to her and say she is an hero because of how she commits herself to her work.

-Diana Godman-

ofelia

     Ofelia is a hero because she helps kids in the community. She tries to keep them in school and help them understand things they don't know. She is a very warm caring person. She also has three kids and lives in the Logan Square area. She works for LSNA, and she does it to help the community in need. Ofelia knows what they are going through because she went through it herself. She doesn’t want them to drop-out like she did. She helps parents to understand what their kids are doing, and also what’s going on in the community. She told us that she enjoys doing charity and community work because she wants her kids and other kids to grow up in a safe community. She doesn’t get paid and works for free, and she also works with other parents in the community.
    Ofelia is a neighborhood hero because she cares about Hispanic and Latino people. She told us that she’s making her goals and dreams come true. What she wants is for all the kids to graduate and to be someone in life. Her motivation is her kids, and what she did in her past. When Ofelia was growing up, she had trouble with her English, so she dropped out because of her personal needs and family work.
     To me, Ofelia's  a hero because she teaches me that even though she dropped out when she was in high school, she didn’t give up and didn’t take a wrong path. She got it together and became what she is now. She got her G.E.D and is now in college. She cares about her future and didn’t get lost in gangs and drugs. She’s a hero by not falling into temptation and by doing what’s best for her life. Also, now she helps her kids, her race, and also other races. She helps her community to progress, and not end up badly.

Tania Navarrete

Marvin Tate

Marvin Tate is an African American male writer and poet. He is tall, around 6”1, with a little afro. Also, he is thin. Marvin writes poems and songs. One of his books is called School Yard of Broken Dreams, which is an inner look about his community and how he feels about it. He also works with CAPS (Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy). His job is to help out the community, and make the world a better place for youths and adults. Marvin believes that social justice is “enlightening someone to be whatever they want to be”. Marvin has a family of his own with a wife and teenage daughter. The reason he started writing is because students in his classroom started writing and he decided that they should get their voices heard. So, he took the students to a place where they could write how they felt and turn those feelings into a song. Marvin is a hero in many ways: He helps youths, he doesn’t judge people and Marvin won a 7,000 dollar award for leadership. Marvin is an outgoing, unstoppable man.

-Dawn Burton

Portrait of Leticia Barrera

Portrait of Leticia Barrera
By; Yoselin Arroyo

Leticia Barrera is a person of eternal happiness. She speaks sweetly, calmly, and passionately during the interview. Throughout the interview, Leticia told me often that she loves her job, and I was surprised, because that’s the first time I’ve heard that from a hard-working person. While Leticia’s working, she works with people from LSNA, (students and parents), and she likes working with them. She tries to involve parents into participating in their children’s education. Leticia teaches parents in the community about educational issues. Leticia sees that parents can contribute within their community. She’s been working with LSNA for 6 years, and she’s been working for the community 8-9 years. While she was living in Mexico, she was a teacher. She went back to college, and she’s studying to be a bilingual teacher. Her mom inspired her to never give up, and to go through with her work in life. Leticia’s husband supports her educational goals. She’s happy with her community. Leticia’s a parent of three children, and she loves them very much. She was an immigrant from Mexico, but came to the US at a young age. She has lived for a long time in Chicago, Illinois. She would like to change issues of inequality such as racism, etc.