Biographies

Annie is a mother of two young men and she has two grandchildren, a little girl named Zenigh and a little boy named Shon. She goes to school at FAST West and, even though she is older now, she still would like to get her GED to encourage her grandchildren to finish school. The last time she took her GED, she was twenty points short, but she still wants to try and finish. It’s been a long time, but she believes with the help of her teachers at FAST West she will finish.

Brenda was born in Greenville, MS and moved to Chicago when she was seven years old. In 2009, she began attending classes at FAST West and has been working to improve her reading and writing since then. In that time, she has made a lot of improvement in both her spelling and reading. She now is able to read much more than she was before. Brenda has one daughter who does well in school and gets good grades.

Derrick is a student at FAST West. He is trying to get his GED. He is also a chef that enjoys cooking different types of meals. He also likes helping people to become better people.

Gloria is currently a student at FAST West working to obtain her GED. She is a motivated person and encourages others in the class. She has a good personality and her goal is to become a pastry chef and own her own bakery some day. She’s from a big family. Gloria and her mother love to travel together. The last place they went was New York to visit Gloria’s father. Gloria’s favorite color is purple and she loves to go downtown to get popcorn in her spare time.

Mahalia is a mother and a grandmother of six grandchildren. She is a student here at FAST West. She is originally from Mississippi and came to Chicago in 1959, because she got tired of picking cotton. Since she came to Chicago, she likes to sing church songs and coming here to FAST West to learn how to read and write and work on the computer. Most of all, she is working to get her GED and become a nurse.

Nakeya is a mother of two kids. She attends the Family Start Center program to get her GED. She went back to school so she could make a better life for her kids. She would like to be a nurse’s aide one day when she is done with school. Nakeya enjoys spending time with her family doing family things. Right now Nakeya’s only goals are finishing school, taking care of her family, and making her dreams come true.

Pamela has many roles, but her favorite and most challenging is being a mother of two and going to school at FAST West. Her favorite food is tacos and she loves the color red.

Shanell is a young, motivated mother of two. She is enrolled in the FAST West program with the goal of continuing her schooling in the medical field. She loves traveling and spending time with her boys.

Sheila lives in Chicago, IL. She is the mother of six children and has a position as a domestic violence advocate. Sheila works to encourage the women to become self-sufficient.

Takeya is a mother and she is a student at FAST West trying to get her GED, so she can get all the education she needs. So, when her daughter comes to her and asks her questions about something, she will be able to give her daughter the answers instead of telling her daughter she doesn't know. Takeya has one daughter and her name is Nevaeh; she is six years old.

Tanyette was born and raised on Chicago's west side. She is a student at FAST West. Tanyette loves to read and also has improved her writing because of this. She also reads to her six year old son every night. The last book she read was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

Tonie is currently enrolled at FAST West. She is the parent of seven kids and the grandmother to five grandkids. Her goals this year are to get a GED and lose some weight to better her health. She is working towards a career in hotel management.