Gianna: Navigating Post-Secondary Life with Lessons Learned from CIS

Communities In Schools® (CIS®) of Chicago serves students in grades K-12, but the impact of that work often lasts well beyond graduation day. That's definitely been the case for Gianna. It's been almost a year since she earned her diploma from Chicago's George Washington High School, and she's still using the knowledge and skills she learned from her CIS site coordinator Maria Watson to navigate post-secondary life. 

Ms. Maria, as Gianna calls her, worked with Gianna for several years at her far Southeast Side school. "When Gianna and I first met, she really did have a lot of tools already," Ms. Maria recalls, "however, I think she was reluctant to use some of them."

Like many high school students, Ms. Maria explained, Gianna prioritized feeling accepted and sometimes put her self-interests aside to please others. At times, this put strains on Gianna's mental health and took her focus away from academics.

Ms. Maria, a licensed and national certified counselor, met regularly with Gianna during her junior and senior years. They talked a lot about Gianna's life goals and what it would take for her to reach them. They also identified decisions Gianna was making in her everyday life that were blocking her from achieving her dreams.

"When I was in high school I would tend to break down and give up," Gianna said. "Ms. Maria told me that wasn't an option."

Over time, the two developed a strong, trusting relationship. Ms. Maria was able to teach Gianna how to advocate for herself as well as manage stress in healthy ways. She also enrolled Gianna in a girls empowerment group that Ms. Maria led.

Through all those positive experiences, Gianna grew socially, emotionally, and academically and graduated last June with solid grades and a plan to accomplish much more after high school. 

On a recent visit to a CIS of Chicago partner elementary school, Ms. Maria was surprised to bump into Gianna. They were both excited to catch up. Gianna was proud to share that she was working at a local nonprofit to teach a leadership course to girls in grades K-8, and had recently been promoted after just a few months on the job.

She also was attending City Colleges of Chicago to pursue an associate degree while also building a loyal clientele for a nail-design business she'd started when she was 15. Gianna said the lessons she learned from CIS were an important part of her post-secondary success.

Ms. Maria has helped me with my success a lot because she taught me how to advocate for myself. She helped me grow mentally and emotionally, to be in a better place. She taught me how to make decisions based on how I want my future to look and I'm doing that each day. 

-Gianna, CIS Alumna

Ms. Maria agreed with that assessment. "When I met Gianna recently and heard what she was up to, I said, 'Oh my gosh you're doing everything you said you were going to do!' This Gianna that we have today is confident, happy, and unapologetically... Gianna. I'm excited to see her continue to bloom." 

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