Learning to Be a Leader
"To say that I would not be where I am today without having participated in Midtown is no small statement. I have participated in Midtown for six years now, and each year has brought forth life lessons and friends that have benefitted me in a profound way.  

When I enrolled in Midtown the summer before my eighth grade year, I was in a period of transition unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Both my two younger brothers and I had attended a school in my home neighborhood of Pilsen, a predominately Mexican neighborhood. My parents decided it would be best for me to transfer to a safer school with a more rigorous curriculum. So my last year of grade school was to be in a new school. During this same time period, my parents were also looking for an enriching summer program and they came across Midtown.  Little did I know how much this Midtown journey would change me for the better.

Coming to Midtown on the first day of the program was one of the most intimidating things I had ever done, because I knew nobody. I eventually made friends just fine (although at first it seemed an impossible feat).

When I started at Midtown my biggest challenge was math. The concepts that were already mastered by my peers, I found to be difficult and confusing. I will always remember the first few nights of Midtown math homework when I cried because I could not figure out how to do the work. It was the worst feeling in the world. Midtown helped me to pick up these concepts and soon I was right up at the top of the pack. I attribute Midtown with my good math grades in 8th grade. I started that school year ahead of the class. In fact, much of that first semester was review for me because of the breadth of topics we had covered at Midtown.

One summer I became a part of Midtown’s sports staff. As a young boy in the program, I idolized the sports coaches. They were the coolest people I knew and were the best athletes around, so it meant a lot to me to get a coaching position. I learned how to be a leader; learning how to be both an authoritative figure and a friend. I also learned the importance of practicing the values that I tried to instill in the kids. If I were hypocritical, the kids would not respect me. I derived great satisfaction when I was able to turn shy kids into confident ones, ball hogs into team players, and lazy kids into hard workers.

My experience at Midtown has and will continue to prove invaluable in life. The Patricia and Dan Jorndt Leadership Award has enabled me to attend Fordham University in New York.  I am grateful for the confidence placed in me, and for the support offered as a scholarship recipient.”