The VOYCE collaborative is a student-led effort. Read on to learn about the student leaders who have committed themselves to helping improve their schools and fight the dropout crisis in Chicago and beyond.

Julian Alequin (Logan Square Neighborhood Association: North Grand H.S.)
Hello there, my name is Julian Alequin or better known as AJ. I’m 16 and a junior at North Grand high school. I’m in VOYCE because high school has become a place of constant failure for most people and not just because of their grades but because of mostly everything that they do. There are many issues that are important to me but I am really geared to and pumped about the freshman year issues we’re dealing with. I would like to see high school become a place of achievement instead of failure. I have been a part of VOYCE for what feels like forever, for about a year, it has really changed my life. I now sit in school and see things that I wouldn’t even pay half a mind to. In my free time, I love to dance and go to parties and write lyrics and poetry. I hope to go to Columbia College, the coolest most awesome college in the world. My dream job would be a dancer or singer but my other main profession would be a teacher.

Fathima Akeela Ameer (Organization of the NorthEast: Senn H.S.)
Hello, I am Fathima Akeela Ameer. I graduated from Senn High School in 2008. I’m nineteen years old. I’ve been an active participant for VOYCE since 2007. I am honored to be part of VOYCE because of the effort we all put in to it to decrease the dropout rate in Chicago. Being a participant in VOYCE definitely helped me become a better leader to the community. It was a privilege to be working with such talented youth like myself and the mentors who helped us through every step of the way. My special thanks go to Teresa who saw the potential in me and gave me an internship, along with all the other organizers and our research consultant Catlin. I am currently a freshman at Illinois State University. I am a Special Education major and I hope to teach Chicago students with special needs.

Sahima Ameer (Organization of the NorthEast: Senn H.S.)
Hello, My name is Sahima Ameer and I am currently a senior at Senn High School. I’m 17 years old but soon will be 18. I have been part of the VOYCE for more than a year but not until this year did I actually commit myself to be a strong member. I feel like a change needs to be made now and we do not have any time to waste. My passion for change in society has always been number one on my list of priorities. In the future I hope to become a teacher and I feel like I’m already being trained for it. What other way can prepare you to become a teacher than becoming a part of an organization that shows the power and the potential of the youth who are underestimated in their abilities? I want to be a teacher who will teach my students beyond the classroom and become a good influence and inspiration for their future. VOYCE has taught me to be a strong person and I see that change in myself everyday. VOYCE gave me the courage to let my voice be heard without any hesitation.

Yesendy Castaneda (Logan Square Neighborhood Association: Kelvyn Park H.S.)
My name is Yesendy Castaneda and I am seventeen years old. I am a junior at Kelvyn Park High School. Being part of VOYCE for me has been a great experience. VOYCE gave me the opportunity to have a say on what is happening and affecting our schools. I haven’t been involved for a long time but I feel I’m growing as a leader and changing my school already. I want to build more and better relationships with teacher and students and other staff as well. I hope to go to International Academy of Design & Technology to become a fashion designer. In my free time I like to hang out with friends and family and just enjoy life.

Ruben Castro (Brighton Park Neighborhood Council: Kelly H.S.)
Hello my name is Ruben Castro and I am a senior at Thomas Kelly High School. I have been involved with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council for more than three years. In the past years I worked with a lot with the council on social justice issues which later on led to my involvement for VOYCE.I am proud to be one of the first people to have started with VOYCE and have still continued with the process. Through the VOYCE project I have learned many skills, met many people, and had memories that will last with me for a lifetime. During my free time I am involved in after school activities and have a part-time job as a barista at Starbucks. I have an interest in the arts and have been involved in chorus, musicals, and flamenco dance. I would like to thank my family, friends, and people who were a big influence to me, because without them I wouldn’t have done such amazing work. I plan to study Sociology and move to California for college. I don’t know what to expect in my future but whatever I do I would always remember the wonderful work I have done in Chicago.

Anton Charles (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Von Steuben H.S.)
Hi, my name is Anton Charles. I am an alum of Von Steuben High School and I will be turning 19 this year. As a part of VOYCE I have gone through many reflections. I’ve thought about changes in myself, my peers, the world around me, and how VOYCE has impacted my life. I am a part of this project because it gave me the opportunity to grow as an individual and an organizer with the Albany Park Neighborhood Council (APNC). Through VOYCE I have discovered that I passionately care about the education of fellow CPS students, the dreams of those students who can’t go to college because they can’t afford it, and over all a quality of life of the residents of Albany Park, my self-proclaimed home away from home.

I have been a participant of VOYCE for 2 years now and that two years were worth as much as 4 years of High School. It has affected my life in so many ways. One being the newly found confidence I have. It gave me the confidence to take on becoming a “Get Out The VOTE” campaign organizer with APNC. A job that I would have been afraid to take without the experience of VOYCE. It gave me insight into knowledge about the real world, about the education system, about organizing, about critical thinking, and ultimately more about myself.

VOYCE and the people in the project has led me to really care about my quality of education and I’m definitely going to college in Chicago, even though the university is undefined. As far as a choice of career I definitely plan on seeing where organizing takes me, and where I can take organizing. Other than that my thoughts are in the clouds as always. In my free time I enjoy 4000 year old board games, writing fictional stories that I never finish (a couple titles including “The Last War” and “Shiroi Izou”), and having fun with friends from work, school, and all other parts of life.

Angela Clay (Organization of the NorthEast: Uplift Community H.S.)
My name is Angela Clay, I am 17, and I am a senior at Uplift Community High School. I graduate in June of 2009. I have been involved with VOYCE since it started. I became passionate about organizing and also about finding a solution to the drop-out rate through VOYCE. Because of VOYCE I have been exposed to college level research, traveling to different states, and also a family atmosphere that gives me the confidence I need to succeed. I plan to study political science at Howard University and continue to work on issues that involve youth voice.

Denise Corral (Brighton Park Neighborhood Council: Kelly H.S.)
My name is Denise Corral and I am seventeen years. I currently attend Thomas Kelly High School as a senior and will be graduating in June of 2009. I have been working on VOYCE since the research portion began and will continue to work on the project as long as I can. I am a part of VOYCE because I have always wanted to change the inequality of education. At an early age I was exposed to the different resources available because of family income. The issues that bother me are the safety and security of the schools and also to eventually make it easier for students that are immigrants to go to college and find scholarships to pay for it. VOYCE has changed my life because I have become a more open minded and aware person of the issues that are going on. It also allowed me to get to know a diverse group of students that if it was not for VOYCE, I would have never approached. In my free time I like to read books and hangout with my friends. I would like to attend Northwestern University in the School of Education and Social Policy. I would like to be a psychologist and work with children or have a job with improving education.

Maria Degillo (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Truman Middle College)
My name is Maria Paula G. Degillo. I’m eighteen years old and I am a senior at Truman Middle College. I have been involved with VOYCE since the project first began. Before I attended Truman Middle College, I was a student in Von Steuben High School. The truth is that I was not considered to be a very good student due to my attendance. I never had a behavioral problem; in fact, I graduated as one of the top ten students in my middle school, Albany Park Multi-cultural Academy. When I was a freshman, my second semester, I started to cut my classes and it all went downhill from there. My junior year, I dropped out of high school and later on that summer I came back. Unfortunately, how much I hate to admit it; I fell back to the same situation once again and transferred to Truman Middle College this year. Among other reasons for joining VOYCE, I joined VOYCE because personally, I was tired of so called “professionals” coming in to my school and telling me how it is operated and what should be done to make it better.

I felt that even though these “professionals” went to school for a major or a graduate on Education, the students knew more simply because they are in that facility for almost half of their day, at least five times a week and are a part of the school itself. I was irritated and felt powerless in terms of changing my very own school. My organizer, Raul Botello, told me about the VOYCE project and I saw this as an opportunity for my voice and other students as well as the students who have dropped out of school, to finally be heard and have our opinions and beliefs of a successful school valued. My future educational plan consists of achieving a bachelor in Political Science with a minor in Journalism and learning at least two additional languages fluently. After achieving my bachelors, I plan to attend Law school for three years. On my free time, I like to explore my ability in art by drawing, sketching, painting and coloring, and other materials you find anywhere. I also love to write about anything, i.e. short stories, poetry, etc. and I love to just hang out with my friends or being with the family.

Marlene De La Cruz (Logan Square Neighborhood Association: North Grand H.S.)
Hi my name is Marlene De La Cruz. I am 18 years old. I graduated from North Grand High School in June of 2008. I am currently attending Harry S. Truman College. I have been involved in VOYCE since September 2007. I joined VOYCE through a school open house. I am part of VOYCE because I am very concerned about the dropout issue; I want to help my community, my school, and my peers. Since I have been part of VOYCE I have had the opportunity to work with young people from different cultures, backgrounds, and ideas. I have met people from different places in the city of Chicago. I have had the opportunity to listen to the concerns of the students in CPS and get them to the head of the CPS directors. They are glad to work with us in order to improve our High Schools.

My biggest dream is to help students become engaged with their schools. I want them to have school spirit. I want them to fight in order to achieve their dreams. I would love to see students and school staff develop powerful relationships. I have seen students dropping out of school. I have seen how sad it is to give up, and let dreams go away because of life issues. I want to change this by having alternatives so students will not give up. I want strong relationships so students will have somebody to fight along with in order to accomplish their dreams. I love chemistry and I would like to become a Chemical Engineer. I know there is a long road, but I will fight for my dreams. VOYCE has given me the tools to become a leader and I will repay back by being successful and help others succeed.

Enea Dervishi (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Roosevelt H.S.)
Hello everyone! =) My name is Enea Dervishi and I am a Roosevelt High School alumnus of 2008. I’m currently attending Northeastern University. In my free time I paint and practice kung fu. I was volunteering at Albany Park Neighborhood Council when I got involved with VOYCE. VOYCE is a revolutionary project; we want to change the drop out rate and the curriculum in our local high schools, because we believe students don’t need to attend a private high school to gain knowledge and to receive an engaging environment. Also, we gain college research skills, which I’m using now. I specially got involve because I want my little brother to graduate and to have a positive environment in his high school years. This experience was extraordinary; I met new people, made a change, and gain skills.

Jessica Estrada (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Roosevelt H.S.)
Hi my fellow citizens, just kidding, =p My name is Jessica Estrada and I’m a Roosevelt high school alumnus of 2007. I’m currently attending Harold Washington College to earn my associates in science and then transfer to go in the medical field. I participated in VOYCE because in my freshmen year of high school, I didn’t care about my education and nobody was there to guide me on my high school years. All of my former friends dropped out and had babies, I was the only one from my friends who graduated high school and preceded my education by attending college. I also saw some students were treated differently from some school staff, just because of their GPA. I wanted to make a change in my high school and to put a STOP to all of this! I began getting trained to conduct participatory evaluation research, which led to an amazing experience. I was amazed to see how many students wanted to make change in their local high schools. It took a lot of hard work and self-determination from my peers and myself to make a change! Just believe in yourself, know yourself, and be self- determined, as a result, you will be unstoppable! =0

Josue Gaona (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Roosevelt H.S.)
Hi, my name is Josue Gaona and I am sixteen years old. I am a sophomore at Roosevelt High School. I have been with VOYCE for about two months and I like VOYCE because it really makes a difference in the lives of students that go to Chicago public schools. I plan to go to the University of Illinois at Chicago. On my free time I like to hang out with my friends, go to the movies, ride my bike, play chess and play cards.

Rashea Gavin (Kenwood Oakland Community Organization: Dyett H.S.)
Hello, my name is Rashea Gavin. I am sixteen years old. I am a junior and I attend Walter H. Dyett high school. I am a part of VOYCE because I want to see more students in school other than on the street. I’ve been in VOYCE for two years and it affected me by letting me know that change is possible in our school and in our community. I hope that I am able to attend Harvard Law School and one day be the greatest lawyer there ever was.

Ashley Humphries (Kenwood Oakland Community Organization: Dyett H.S.)
Hello, my name is Ashley Humphries, I’m 17 years old and I am currently a senior at Dyett High School who will be graduating this up coming June. V.O.Y.C.E has affected my life in many positive ways. If I was not involved in V.O.Y.C.E, I am sure I would not be graduating. I love being a part of V.O.Y.C.E because we represent the change that CPS is in desperate need for. Encouraging students to stay in school and attend college is extremely important to me. My passion is helping people in any way I can, and that is why I would like to go to the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign to major in business or social work. In my free time I like to sew, read, cook, and hang out with friends and family.

Jesse Jackson (Kenwood Oakland Community Organization: Kenwood Academy)
Hi. My name is Jesse Jackson. I am sixteen years old. I am a junior at Kenwood Academy High School. I enjoy working with the VOYCE collaborative because it is teaching me serious leadership skills, which I know is going to help me when I become an adult. VOYCE is helping me experience how life really is and how education is being taken for granted. I like to play basketball in my free time and hang out with my friends. I want to attend the University of Florida and I want to major in either accounting or computer engineering.

Tianna Johnson (TARGET Area Development Corporation: Perspectives Calumet Institute of Technology)
My name is Tianna Johnson and I am sixteen years old. I attend Perspectives Calumet High School of Technology. I enjoy working with VOYCE collaborative because it has helped me open my mind to know that I can make change within CPS schools. I was able to meet other young people that shared my passion. I don’t know what college I want to attend but I know I want to become a lawyer. In my free time I like to relax and chill with my friends.

Michael Jones (TARGET Area Development Corporation: Hyde Park Academy)
My name is Michael Jones and I will be graduating from Hyde Park Academy in 2009. I am currently eighteen years old and I have gladly been a part of VOYCE project since it first began in 2007. VOYCE has opened doors for me and has also broken racial barriers that stood between me and my other wonderful diverse colleagues. In doing so VOYCE has also allowed me to be a part of a National Education Reform that was generally played and also orchestrated by the youth. I plan to attend University of California, Thomas More College, University of Miami or Cornell University. In attending I will strive to attain a Degree in Industrial psychology, from which later on in life I will use to ensure that youths’ that are homeless have a center/shelter.

Julia Luo (Brighton Park Neighborhood Council: Kelly H.S.)
Ni Hao! My name is Julia Luo, 17 years young, senior at Kelly High School, and will be graduating with the class of 09! I discovered VOYCE by being one of the students that was surveyed during the research process. When I heard about what VOYCE has been doing to decrease the drop out rate, and that they were looking for committed and strong leaders, I knew I was right for the job. Teachers and peers have always recognized me as a great speaker and writer, and I wanted to expand my voice to the public instead of just being heard in class. I was drawn to the drop out topic because it became an issue when a close friend of mine said she wanted to drop out of school. This made me realize that I had to take action and make a difference to my school.

I have only been working with VOYCE for 2 months, but within that time, VOYCE has made such a huge impact in my life. I’ve learned about how schools work, public speaking skills, that there are more than just one way of looking at things, and I am just so amazed of what we have accomplished so far. I noticed how many of my friends complain about how badly they want to get out of school already, but they should not be complaining. Instead, students should spend their spare time helping to improve their school. This is our school reputation and we should all take part to help the school and the community. Aside from VOYCE, I am involved in many club activities (few to name are Red Cross, Social Justice, and Drama) and I also write for a student newspaper called THE MASH.

In my spare time I enjoy to bake, TEXTING, you-tubing, napping, online shopping/browsing, and of course having fun with whoever, whenever, wherever. I am hoping to go to Wisconsin-Madison University in the Fall of 09, and I’m still undecided on my majors, but a few options I am interested in are fashion design, veterinarian, and communications. One of these days, I’m going to be famous and hope you all remember my NAME, because you’ll be screaming it at the top of your lungs! Joy-Geen for now.

Edwin Medina (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Roosevelt H.S.)
My name is Edwin Medina and I’m sixteen years old. I’m a Junior at Theodore Roosevelt High School. I am glad to be part of VOYCE because I get to be part of the transformation for high schools in CPS so that my sister has a better school to go to. Being part of VOYCE has taught me to be a better person and make sure that education is my first priority. When I’m done with high school I’m going to Harold Washington Community College and then transfer to University of Wisconsin.

Kresheena Moore (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Roosevelt H.S.)
Hi my name is Kresheena Moore and I am seventeen years old. I am a senior at Roosevelt High School and I have been involved with VOYCE for quite some time. I enjoy being a part of VOYCE because it’s very diverse. It allows youth to work together. It gives me as well as others the opportunity to help make a difference and let our voices be heard. VOYCE has taught me that youth can make an impact. We can help change our surroundings to make our neighborhood a better place and lower the drop-out rate of students in school (High School). If I’m not helping out in the community, I’m hanging out with friends or participating in school activities. Although I’m not quite sure what kind of career I want to pursue, I would most likely do something relating to criminal justice, the Medical field, or serve our country in any other way!

Miguel Naboor (Organization of the NorthEast: Uplift Community H.S.)
Hi, my name is Miguel Nabor. I’m 16 year old and about to be 17 and I am currently attending Uplift Community High School. I’m going to graduate in 2010! I used to be a very shy person and a person who barely spoke in public. After I got involved with VOYCE (which has been for about a year now) I started to develop leadership, public speaking, and many other skills. Being with VOYCE has impacted my life in the most positive way. I met many youths from all over Chicago who believe that we should change the high school drop-out rate because it’s an issue and affects us the most. I truly want to see the drop-out rate decrease in our schools. In my free time I usually just like to spend some time with my loved ones. I like any type of music as long as it’s good and I like to help out my community in any type of way I can.

Victor Negrete (Brighton Park Neighborhood Council: Kelly H.S.)
Hello, my name is Victor Negrete I am currently 16 years of age and I attend Thomas Kelly High School and I will be graduating in the class of 2010. Well, VOYCE was something that was brought up to me as just a job opportunity but I really didn’t know what our duties were. I am a part of VOYCE because it’s a change that everyone wants to make and I really enjoy working with a diverse number of people that teach me something new every day. The changes that I want to make are to really create that open and inviting culture in our schools like the ones that I saw on my site visit to New York, I also want teachers to be relevant on the over all perspective of the community in which they teach in. I think the over all student voice in the school is very necessary which is why empowering students and really having high expectations makes them persevere more.

So basically I have been involved in VOYCE right before we did the research/data/study phase, so about a year and a couple of months. This study has really in so many perspectives changed my life, but most importantly my persona. I think I’ve learned my strengths and weaknesses, I have had people help me through this process to carry my self out as a strong and confident person. I have learned so much about the school system that things I never knew before open up my eyes to the reality of what students, teachers, and parents go through every day. On my free time I actually dance in my schools dance team, dancing has been my first and only passion. I like hanging out with friends and just experiencing new things. As far as college goes, I really want to go to New York because I really like the environment and I felt like I fit in to the scene. Well I do want to major in Latin American studies and dance so I might want to be a teacher or a dancer.

Isra Omar (Organization of the NorthEast: Senn H.S.)
Hello, my name is Isra Omar. I am a senior at Senn High School. I’m 17 years old. I hope to become a personal financial advisor. I have been part of VOYCE since this year. When I heard about the dropout crisis, I was so shocked and that I knew I wanted to be part of VOYCE. Not only have I developed skills, I will use them in the near future. It is an amazing feeling to feel that you have succeeded but I believe that we can all succeed because we have the power, enthusiasm, and most importantly, the motivation. I want every CPS student to feel that they can succeed and will accomplish something great in the near future. Before I felt silenced by my lack of confidence but because of VOYCE, I have the confidence and the strength to speak my voice. Without VOYCE, I would not have a voice that had depth and the power of so many students and adults behind it.

Justin Ramos (Organization of the NorthEast: Senn H.S.)
My name is Justin and I am a senior at Senn High School. I am graduating class of 09. I am 17 turning 18 in April. I have been in VOYCE for a year and a half. I was a very anti-social person and I am still kind of anti-social, but VOYCE is making it better for me. I am able to talk to people a lot more. At first I didn’t understand what VOYCE really was until I actually did the research. The research has been a good experience for me because it made me focus and really do the work. I couldn’t slack off because if I did then the research wouldn’t be accurate on my part. VOYCE has helped me grow into a better student at my school. Being in VOYCE made me realize that I am not the only one who cares about the issues in our schools and our communities. If it wasn’t for VOYCE I wouldn’t have all the friends that I consider family in my life right now. Now that I have joined VOYCE I feel like I am part of something and that I can act my normal way that I can’t always act other places. VOYCE isn’t all about work, we also know how to have fun!

I like to listen to heavy metal and some hip-hop, R&B, pop, and Spanish music. In my free time I listen to music and play video games. I am in a program called Game-On that involves computers and video games. I want to become a Game Designer or a game tester or anything that involves games. I have twin nephews that are starting school soon. I want to make sure that they get the best education they can get. That’s why I am in VOYCE.

Jazmin Roman (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Roosevelt H.S.)
My name is Jazmin Roman. I am seventeen years old. I am a junior and currently attending Roosevelt high school. I became part of VOYCE because I decided that it was time for student voice to be heard. What made me want to be part of VOYCE was because the project was student led and I wanted a better education for my brother. The issue of education is important because I want to improve my brother’s future high school and it is personally important to me too. A reform that I would like to see in our public schools would be a way to help the drop out and make it a greater chance of students graduating. I have been part of VOYCE for about one year and a half and I have learned a lot from students from all over Chicago. My favorite color is pink! I like to spend time with my friends and family and I love listening to any kind of music. I still don’t know what college I want to go to but I know that the college I pick has to have a pre-law focus. I have always wanted to be a lawyer because of their ability to help the people.

Noemi Roman (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Roosevelt H.S.)
Hi, I’m 17 years old and currently attend Roosevelt High School, Class of 2010. I joined VOYCE and it already feels great to be part of such a program. I think that young people have a lot of things to say but many of them don’t know how to. That’s why I am part of this project. I want to be able to not only motivate but influence my fellow classmates to graduate. I would like to positively impact the drop-out rate and create more opportunities for student involvement. I don’t know yet what I want to study. I think I will either study Law or Political Science; hopefully I can make up my mind soon. In my free time, I like to play sports and dance. I love getting involved in anything that I think I can make a change in. It’s all about the sports and leadership, and well that’s me.

Lucina Salinas (Organization of the NorthEast: Senn H.S.)
Hi my name is Lucina Salinas. I am 18 years old. I graduated from Nicholas Senn High School. I am currently a freshman at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I have been involved with VOYCE since it began. I have to admit when my youth organizer told me about VOYCE, Teresa, I wasn’t that interested. Reducing the high dropout rate in Chicago Public high schools was not a concern for me at all. But I decided to join because I figured that it would be a good way to meet other youth from other high schools as well as other organizers from other organizations. As time passed by, I started to become interested in reducing the dropout rate. I became passionate because I started to see how unequal the education system is. Becoming aware of the inequalities in the education system made me angry and I learned to convert this anger towards creating change. It made me angry because we all as youth deserve the right to a great and equal education that serves us all not just a few. I also became passionate because I realized that we as youth have the power to stand up for what we believe in and the power to create and impact change. VOYCE gave me the skills necessary to become a strong leader. VOYCE to an extent motivated me to go to college because I didn’t want to become another statistic that is, another Latina who doesn’t graduate from high school or go to college. Doing the research and coming up with our solutions was not an easy task at all. It was rigorous and time consuming. Even though I am in college I plan to continue working with VOYCE. I aspire to become a politician because as I politician I want to be able to help my community and I want to ensure that everyone receives a great education full of opportunities. In my spare time I like to hang out with my friends, listen to music, and I like to do just about anything. I am very open minded and I love to learn about different cultures and learn other languages.

Martre Walker (Albany Park Neighborhood Council: Roosevelt H.S.)
Hi my name is Martre Walker, but you can call me Tre for short. I’m seventeen years old. I am in my junior year at Roosevelt High School. The reason I joined VOYCE is because I want to make a difference in education and this is a way I can help my high school and help future high school kids. I would like to see VOYCE have a 50/50 partnership with CPS. My vision of future of VOYCE is to see it nation wide. I have only been a part of VOYCE for two months but I know that I can really make a difference in education reform. In my free time I like to hangout with my best friends Ej and Josh before coming to APNC. I love to swim. After high school I want to go to college at Yale, Harvard, Princeton and maybe USC. After college I am going to be journalist and in my free time as a journalist become a novelist.

LaQuida Van Pelt (TARGET Area Development Corporation: Perspectives Calumet H.S.)
My name is LaQuida Van Pelt. I am sixteen years old. I am a junior at Perspectives Calumet High School. I’ve been involved in VOYCE since my freshman year. VOYCE has taught me a lot of things, it gave me the chance to voice my opinion, to stand up and make a difference for my school. VOYCE has also taught me how to be more organized and help me develop my leadership skills. I feel that VOYCE is an excellent project and I would love to keep my partnership with VOYCE.

Christopher Williams (Organization of the NorthEast: Uplift Community H.S.)
Hi my name is Christopher Jovan’te Williams and I am 18 years old. I attend Uplift Community High School as a senior planning for graduation summer of 2009. Since I’ve joined VOYCE I’ve become a strong leader in my school and my community. VOYCE has helped me think outside the box and focus on things that concern my future like college and art and how to get my priorities straight in order to succeed. Doing this research and interviewing my peers has inspired me to put more emotion in my paintings with every stroke. I am part of VOYCE, because the few years I’ve lived I longed to express my ideas and concerns of school and hoped that I could share these ideas with others my age and older one day. That one day has come. Now I can get what I want to say off my chest and hopefully, with my peers, change CPS into a mold satisfying not only staff, but parents and students as well.