In her own words: Irais munoz, GYO-CHICAGO graduate

July 12, 2021

My name is Irais Munoz, and I am a recent graduate from Roosevelt University with the support from Grow Your Own Illinois (GYO-IL). I will be teaching at Ray Graham Training Center High School at the Foreman Campus this fall in a transition cluster classroom. I owe it all to those who got me here. With the support and patience of my family, friends, and GYO-Chicago, I made it to the end.

Being part of GYO-Chicago has been such a wonderful experience; yes, that sounds a bit cliché but let me explain. As a product of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), a parent of CPS students, and a current CPS employee, I know how difficult it is to speak freely about the changes that need to happen. But it wasn’t like that with GYO-Chicago. Every month when I met with my cohort, we had educationally enlightening conversations about our students, our community, our schools, and how to make an impact. The monthly meetings were the first time I was able to speak with other beginning educators with very similar experiences, ideas, and the will to put them into action. The meetings were my free “therapy sessions.” It was a free space to connect with others and learn from one another.

GYO-Chicago supported me through my two years while worked on my Bachelors of Arts in special education. They were also able to provide tutoring resources, testing support, and monthly check-ins with a candidate coordinator. I can say that having had someone from GYO-Chicago always in my corner helped keep me going through the pandemic, when everything felt so overwhelming. For that, I will be forever grateful.