Wonder Woman
When we last checked in with our intrepid heroine (PRC Newsletter, Summer 2016), Net N. had just started working with WorkNet DuPage on her journey to a health career.
Net, a Vietnamese native, first arrived at People’s Resource Center (PRC) after she joined the Learn and Experience to Advance Your Potential (LEAP) program, held at PRC. “When I first came in 2011, I could barely speak English,” she recalled. “But I thought PRC was an...
Adriana Mendez had big dreams. She was living in a small town in southern Mexico and wanted an education, but her parents thought otherwise.
“At 15, my parents forbade me to study,” she explained. “They thought it was time for me to learn how to do chores at home and help them with my two little siblings. But I always wanted something more in my life.”
At 16, the family moved to DuPage County to be near relatives. Adriana was not allowed to attend school...
Paul DiVolpi always wanted to be an artist, but he credits the PRC Art Program with making him successful. “My first project looked like a 5th grader did it,” he laughs.
“But I did it over and over and now I produce art that I’ve sold and pieces used in PRC materials and notecards.”
Paul came to the PRC Art Studio in 2015 after hearing about free classes. He is currently studying watercolors with professional watercolorist Ratindra Das....
“PRC introduced me to America in a good way,” said 68-year-old Onward Ushewokunze, “From receptionists to the teachers at PRC, all are fantastic.”
Onward has been a client with PRC since 2009, when he arrived in the United States from Zimbabwe. Even with his upbeat personality and nonstop smile, he was unable to find a job. “I had no skills,” he said, and though he was a certified auto mechanic in both countries, he was unable to master the...
You can tell a lot about people based on how they fare when facing adversity. Some people give up. Others, like Nicole and Matt, hunker down and move forward, determined to get past the hardships in their path.
Nicole was an engineering consultant for Motorola when an illness left her legally blind. Soon after, she had a stroke, and became unable to work. The resulting stress took a toll on her marriage. Ultimately, her husband filed for divorce, and the family home...
