ACCESS AND SUCCESS FOR STUDENTS
Without a high school diploma, however, he didn’t qualify for the jobs he wanted. Around this time Medina’s niece graduated from high school, and he stepped in to help her find information about college. He learned about CLC, specifically the Lakeshore Campus in Waukegan, a five-minute drive from his home. He began thinking, “Why don’t I do something, too?” Medina enrolled in CLC’s adult education program and began taking classes in 2021 to earn his Illinois high school diploma, which he hopes to complete this summer. CLC offers free high school diploma classes in English and Spanish, both online and in person. Morning, afternoon, evening and weekend classes are available. At the same time, Medina began pursuing a career certificate in Criminal Justice through the Integrated Career and Academic Preparation System (ICAPS). This free college program helps students prepare for a career in high-demand fields while they complete their high school diploma or English as a Second Language (ESL) studies.
Guillermo Medina didn’t see going back to school in his future. He left high school in his senior year before graduating to work full time. “At that time in my life, it was the right thing,” recalled Medina. He was living in Chicago, making good money driving a truck and his work kept him busy and out of trouble. “Everything I wanted, I had,” he said. That changed in 2017 when Medina became seriously ill at the age of 37. The Beach Park resident spent months in the hospital, then recovered, but became ill again with COVID-19. For both illnesses, physicians gave him a 50-50 chance of survival. He recovered once more, but then his brother died of brain cancer. Medina was devastated and began questioning his life choices. “You know, you just get lost. I’m sitting here, thinking, what do I want to do now? I didn’t want to go back to driving a truck.”
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CLC CONNECTS
CLC has more students enrolled and more career certificates available through ICAPS than any other community college in Illinois. In spring 2024, the number of students in career transition programs at CLC nearly doubled from the year before.
MUCH TO LEARN, LOTS OF HELP Medina found the free Bridge to Careers program at CLC especially useful. “That was the program I started in the beginning to acclimate myself to college life,” he explained. Bridge courses helped him improve his language, math and computer skills so he could succeed in the classroom. Even so, he found the technology used in college intimidating. Twenty years ago, everything was pen and paper, recalls Medina, who had limited computer experience. CLC instructors and staff were patient and willing to help. With their support, Medina learned how to attend online classes, send emails, use word processing and course management software and much more.