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What’s in a name? For a vibrant nonprofit performing arts center on the border of Chicago’s Logan Square and Hermosa neighborhoods, the answer is ... everything.

If you ask Wanda Nguyen about her career plans, she does not hesitate with her answer: She will graduate from ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø, attend dental school and eventually become an orthodontist, she says. And then she smiles.

As a professor in ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø’s Department of , is passionate about the success of her students. But she knows firsthand that success in a university classroom doesn’t happen without plenty of preparation.

Eddie Bocanegra’s experiences have led him through a time of turmoil in his community to a life of service to his community. The eldest of five children born to immigrant parents, he experienced an upbringing many families in his circumstance experience: struggle.

ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø is a welcoming school that embraces diversity and a nontraditional atmosphere. You become a member of a community at ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø. With more than 90 clubs and organizations, students can find their niche by participating in intramural sports or joining an organization in line with their field of study. Students who get involved in activities build relationships, foster leadership skills and give back to the community.

Phu Duong’s career in biology is well underway.

After successfully defending his master’s thesis at ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø over the summer, he has begun a Ph.D. program in Cell and Molecular Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There, he hopes to become involved in the field of epigenetics, which is the study of changes in gene activity that are not caused by changes in the DNA sequence. Translation: The guy is smart.

Kate Adams was a Distinguished Student Speaker at the Graduate Recognition Ceremony of Fall 2013. She completed her M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language this past summer. She currently teaches English to international students at the Illinois Institute of Technology and is a writer and editor in educational publishing. 

Sherry Williams never dreamed she would return to school at age 55. When she did, the president and founder of the Bronzeville Historical Society decided to attend ºÚ°µ±¬ÁÏÍø’s Jacob H. Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies (CCICS).​​​​​​​

Abigail Harris was a Distinguished Student Speaker at the Graduate Recognition Ceremony of Fall 2013. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA from the Master of Arts in English Literature program. Abigail has presented on a panel at the DePaul Graduate Student Conference, participated in a Research Symposium, and composed a thesis on nineteenth-century women writers and feminist recovery work. The fragments of her speech follow.