Chicago Tribune

Balancing Act: She dropped out of school, pregnant, at 14. At 32, she's studying at DePaul.

CHICAGO _ This school year is a momentous one for Jacqueline Sanchez.

Her daughter, Jesenia Medina, will be a senior at Jones College Prep. Her son Joseph Medina will start eighth grade at Horace Greeley Elementary, and her younger son, Juelz Stephens, will enter kindergarten there.

"All my children will graduate this year," Sanchez says.

And she'll keep plugging away toward her dream: a bachelor's degree in early childhood education from DePaul University, where she's about to begin her second year.

Sanchez is one of seven kids

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune4 min readWorld
Commentary: Universities Should Defend Students’ Right To Free Speech, Not Aid Their Repression
In mid-April, the University of Southern California banned the school valedictorian from giving a commencement address for the first time in its history, following a pressure campaign by outside pro-Israel groups. The university cited unspecified “se
Chicago Tribune2 min readCrime & Violence
‘A Unique Combination Of Greed, Intelligence, And Remorselessness’: Feds Make Case For 10-year Sentence For Chicago Con Man
CHICAGO — A federal prosecutor on Wednesday described serial Chicago con man Joey Cipolla as a charmer with an unhealthy obsession with wealth — and he doesn’t care about hurting people to get it. “(Cipolla) is a unique combination of greed, intellig
Chicago Tribune5 min readWorld
Commentary: Post-Oct. 7, I’m Finally Questioning The Narrative About Jewish Inheritance
Recently, while cleaning out my basement, I came across a picture of myself from 1983. The photo was taken at my Reform Movement Jewish summer camp, located on several acres of bucolic rolling hills along a clear lake in southeastern Wisconsin. That

Related Books & Audiobooks