The handwriting is neat and legible, the tone modest but confident. The message is of an ambitious high school senior intent on becoming a doctor, who knows she must persuade someone to help pay the considerable college expenses that such a goal will require.

By the standards of handwriting analysis alone, Sabrina Kendrick’s 1981 application for a scholarship from the George M. Pullman Educational Foundation would probably have been approved. Everything communicated in the essay—her high school accomplishments, her organizational skills, her ability to list achievements without seeming boastful, her bold ambition—is reflected in the person she is today, a veteran infectious disease specialist at Stroger Hospital (a public, urban teaching hospital in Chicago) and an assistant professor of medicine at Rush Medical College.

(Click on the essay to view a larger version.) (more…)

Pullman Scholar Alumna Bethsaida Arroyo Forges Her Own Path.

All things considered, it would have been easy for Bethsaida Arroyo not to attend college. Her grandparents didn’t make it through grade school, and her mom earned her GED only after Betsy was in 6th grade.

“She got pregnant at an early age and had to drop out of high school to raise us,” said Arroyo. “But she understood the importance of education and pushed us all to go to school. College was ingrained into my head in grade school.”

That was Andersen Elementary, the neighborhood school at Honore and Division streets which is now LaSalle II, a magnet school.

“In 8th grade, I was reading at the college level,” she said. “Not a lot of my high school friends went to college, but all of my grade school friends did.”

And once at Wells, the neighborhood high school, she hardly broke a sweat. “I wasn’t a test-taker,” she said. “I didn’t try to study. I’d wing it. High school was a breeze for me.” (more…)

There was no doubt that Marcus Woods would go to college. And thrive there. His mother, Sheila, pretty much required it. But for an only child growing up in a single-parent family near 77th and Bishop streets, having a will didn’t necessarily guarantee having a way.

When he was 14, Woods and his mother moved to the south suburbs so he could attend Thornwood High School in South Holland.

“The way I looked at it,” he said, “and the way my mom sold it to me, it was an opportunity to re-invent myself. We wanted a fresh start.”

The “re-invention” hardly broke a sweat academically, excelling in math and science and deciding, early, on a career as a structural engineer. Which, today, 14 years later, he is.

“My mom made the decision I’d go to college,” he said. “But the institutions I wanted to go to were very expensive. Coming from a single-parent family, I knew scholarships would be the only way I could attend the college of my choice.” (more…)

On May 29th, 2014 Pullman Scholars participated in the first-ever Pullman Scholar Symposium that offered panel discussions, networking opportunities, and career development workshops designed to give them the tools needed to thrive during college and beyond. Alumni, board members, and volunteers joined the scholars for an evening of networking and to hear keynote Pullman Scholar Alumnus Steven Fair speak about how his definition of how success has changed since college.

We’d like to extend our gratitude to the Pullman Scholar Symposium Planning Committee, our associates board, and other volunteers who worked hard to make our first symposium a success. THANK YOU!

On June 11, 2013,  the Foundation hosted its second annual Pullman Scholar Alumni Networking Night at Quay in Chicago. Alumni of all ages, backgrounds, and industries came together for an exciting evening of mingling and networking. Now, if we could only get all 12,000 of our alumni together! Next year?

Pullman Scholar Alumni Shervon Coleman (2004) and Catrina Patton (2011)

Pamela Ruggieri (1965), Joan Meagher (1967), and Thomas Meagher (1967)

Pullman Scholars of all ages and backgrounds networked the night away!

Alumnus Anthony Lindsey (1990) sharing his featured newsletter article with Thomas Galluppi (1976)

Great-great granddaughters of George Pullman – Kimberley Freedman (left) and Jennifer Tadjeden (right); and great-great-great granddaughter of George Pullman – Sarah Nau (center) came out to celebrate with Pullman Scholars.

Irma Castaneda (2013), Tasha Legge (guest), and Nerissa Legge (2004)

Olimpia Pietraszewski (2008), Andy Yu (2013), Dariusz Jakubowski (2013), and Tiffini Joseph (2011)

Board President Bonnie Miller, Board Member Reverend Sam Portaro, and Executive Director Robin Redmond

Michael Kharouta (2010) and Mark Hudson (1985)

Foundation staff members Sara Gove, Lisa O’Banner, and Megan McGinnity

Matt Brown (guest), Taylor Brown (2010), Gregory Bird (guest), Judy Bird (1984), Richard Meliska (1974), Merrill Essex (guest)

Ryan and Tiffany Burrow (2002)

On June 13, 2012,  the Foundation hosted the inaugural Pullman Scholar Alumni Networking Night event at the Mid-America Club in downtown Chicago. 65 Pullman Scholar Alumni and their guests attended. The event brought together Pullman Scholar Alumni from several generations, industries, and backgrounds.

Thank you to those who joined us for a wonderful evening and for sharing your ideas on how we can continue to grow the Foundation and bring together the Pullman Scholar community. We know this is a very special community, linked by a common history through the Foundation and, we hope, a future helping the Foundation move forward together.