A-Team Alumni Spotlight: Christian Gordon (Class of 2018)

"My family is not from America. They're from Belize, my Mom came over here when she was in high school with my Grandmother. They always wanted that better life for us, so I just have that immigrant mentality of: try better..." said Christian Gordon, speaking on his motivation and commitment during his time in the A-Team Scholars program.

Gordon was the third highest earner back in 2018, leaving the program with a cumulative ~$3,225 in scholarship funding for college. Now entering his senior year at DePaul University, Gordon's drive for success has only gotten stronger. We sat down with the Englewood-raised student to hear about life after A-Team. Click "Read More" to see the full story!

Joining the A-Team

Gordon started earning scholarship dollars in the 4th grade through the A-Team program. Students in grades 4-12 are awarded scholarship money based on scholastic achievement, character and integrity. During their time in the program, Gordon and his fellow A-Team Scholars received receive $50 for every “A” and $25 for every “B” earned per quarter in Reading, Math, Writing and Science.

Gordon attended Sherman School of Excellence, one of the four James R. Jordan Foundation partner schools. "I honestly come from a pretty strict family, so grades were pretty important. If I came home with a C, I'd probably get lectured about it and be encouraged to do better," said the Sherman graduate. During his time at Sherman, Gordon was also a part of the Urban Initiatives Work to Play soccer program, where students were encouraged to do well in the classroom to get play time on the field. With both the A-Team Scholars program funding his future and the Urban Initiatives Work-to-Play program keeping him engaged, Gordon claimed he was, "driven and focused to have good grades."
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To prove his drive and focus, Gordon graduated from Sherman as their valedictorian.

Feeling Competitive

After graduating from Sherman, Gordon attended Johnson College Prep located in the Englewood neighborhood, where he stayed for all 4 years. There, Gordon continued to push himself:
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"When I got to Johnson, the school was pretty strict and I had a lot of competition which drives me as well. When I first got there, I wasn't in honors which puzzled me because I knew I was smart and after a while I got bored. So I started working harder and harder and during my sophomore year I ended up moving into honors and AP classes. I was working hard to stay in that position even though I felt like I should have been in from the beginning, and I didn’t want to go back to feeling bored." - Christian Gordon
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As an A-Team Scholar, Gordon continued to receive scholarship dollars through his good grades throughout high school. By the end of his senior year, Gordon left the program as the 3rd highest earner from his graduating class, walking away with ~$3,225 to put towards his college tuition. He also spoke at the A-Team Graduation Dinner in 2018, stating, "College may seem far, but it’s never too early to plan because there’s always room for scholarships."

Pictured Above: Christian Gordon and family at the 2018 A-Team Graduation Dinner
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Beyond the A-Team, Gordon also was earning scholarship funding through the Cubs Scholarship, an annual, selective scholarship that students must be nominated for. "I was chosen to be one of the 5 students in 2016, so going into my senior year of high school, I already had the A-Team and the Cubs Scholarship. I had to figure out more or less what school I wanted to go to and what I wanted to do in terms of going to college since I had that all set up," said Gordon. Unfortunately, outside circumstances made Gordon's financial aid options limited, despite graduating top 20 in his class and getting accepted to a wide array of colleges. This all changed after DePaul University sent what Gordon calls, "a mysterious email," just a couple days after graduating from Johnson.

Completely Debt Free!

Receiving the Dean's Scholarship based off just his grades, Gordon committed to DePaul University still with financial concerns regarding aid. Then, "a couple days after graduation I got a mysterious email from DePaul saying they had a new scholarship, and I was flagged to apply for it," said Gordon. After finding out the scholarship would cover the rest of his tuition, his initial reaction was feeling nervous to apply. But reflecting on his achievements throughout elementary and high school, it's no surprise that Gordon found himself successfully interviewing for the scholarship, and being accepted to DePaul on a full ride just a couple weeks later. Now going into his senior year the school, Gordon exclaims he's excited to graduate, "completely debt free!"

During his time at DePaul, Gordon has been studying Business and Finance, and is also looking into getting his real estate license after he graduates. "I honestly don't know why I chose to do business, but I knew I wanted to do real estate eventually, so I thought thought I would need a background in how money works," said Gordon. Getting deeper into the finance major, Gordon found himself enjoying his classes like accounting, and he felt that everything just came to him naturally.

Gordon has also been involved during his college years, including the DePaul Activities Board which planned school events around campus. But like many students this year, his in-person engagement was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reflecting back on his college experience going into his final year at DePaul, Gordon "wants to get a little bit more involved a campus and have more experiences after missing out on two years."

To keep busy in recent weeks and gain experience, Gordon has been completing a Summer Internship with the Christian Brothers Investment Services, furthering his work in the financial and accounting industry. Looking ahead, Gordon is going to work with the DePaul career center to figure out his career path post-grad in the finance world.

Becoming an Englewood Example

During Gordon's time in the A-Team, he sites his older brother as the main driver for his work ethic.  His brother also went through the A-Team program, and Gordon claims "he was always the example for being in the A-Team first. He was always getting good grade and when he graduated the 8th grade he was the salutatorian." That competitive drive between siblings led to Gordon achieving valedictorian status at Sherman just a couple years later. Even Gordon's younger sister (who is still in the A-Team Scholars High School program) graduated as Sherman's salutatorian.

A family of scholars has made Gordon think more about the impact he can have on his local community. When asked about his goals for post-grad, Gordon provided a quite detailed response:

"​The main goal for my career moving forward is that I see real estate being my second source of income. I see some career in finance or sales working for a company. I definitely see two sources of income and not moving out of my neighborhood completely. Definitely trying to make a positive change within the Englewood community just because I feel like it gets negative feedback or media presence. I was talking to one of my staff members from my internship that just moved here from New York and she asked how far I lived from the office. When I said I’m from the South Side, she asked, “that’s not the bad part is it?” I feel like I can be some kind of light in changing that mindset. You don’t necessarily have to be from the North Side to make it in Chicago. I definitely want to be that example."
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The James R. Jordan Foundation is so excited to see Christian Gordon continue to grow as a leader and an inspiration for A-Team Scholars and community members alike during his last year at college and beyond!

Learn more about the A-Team: https://www.jamesjordanfoundation.com/a-team-scholars
Support the Foundation: https://www.jamesjordanfoundation.com/donate