Featured Alumni: Wendy AndradeWendy's family immigrated from Mexico in the 1980's and she was raised in West Chicago, IL. She began in the A-Team in the fourth grade when the program was introduced at Smith Elementary School in Aurora. She graduated this year from West Aurora High School with a 3.8 GPA and is currently attending the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in St Louis, MO. She plans on completing the six year program with a Pharm D in Pharmacy, and would like to work as a retail Pharmacist for Target.
"What I liked most about the A-team program was that it engraved an ambitious mindset at a young age. It allowed me to constantly push myself to my limits to obtain good grades throughout my entire grade school experience. Receiving certificates every quarter, having celebrations, and seeing how proud I made my parents made me feel good about myself. It is a feeling many kids lack growing up which is why they eventually lose interest in education. It made school more worth it, knowing that there was eventually going to be a reward to pay off for all my hard work."
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"I was never content with a B because I knew that if I worked harder I was able to get that A. The A-team program also exposed me to community service and volunteering. Having the experience of helping others growing up eventually led up to many of the activities I became involved in at high school. Volunteering changed my life and it is now an essential part of it." - Wendy Andrade (2013 A-Team Alumni)
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FEATURED PARTNER: State Farm
State Farm was founded in 1922 by retired farmer George J. Mecherle as a mutual automobile insurance company owned by its policyholders. The firm originally specialized in auto insurance for farmers. The company later expanded its services into other types of insurance, such as homeowners and life insurance, in addition to banking and financial services. State Farm is ranked 44th in the 2013 Fortune 500, which lists American companies by revenue.
State Farm has been a partner of the James R. Jordan Foundation since November of 2001. During that time they have provided thousands of dollars in grants that have resulted in hard earned scholarship dollars for hundreds of our A-Team Scholars in our A-Team Scholars Foundation. Children matter to State Farm. All children should have access to a high-quality education that equips them to achieve their greatest potential. Recently State Farm has also provided funding for our inaugural year of our Young Entrepreneur Program (YEP). |
