Journey Short graduated from a South Side Chicago high school in 2022 with a 2.34 GPA. At the time, college felt more like a distant hope than a realistic option—especially since it would place a financial burden on her single mother.
“I knew that I wanted to go to college, but I didn’t quite understand how the lack of work I’d been doing up until then would affect my college journey,” Short said. “My list of colleges that were open and ready to accept me wasn’t high, and I knew that college would be expensive.”
Then Short discovered Hope Chicago, the nation’s largest two-generation scholarship program. Launched in 2022, the program provides debt-free college and career pathways, along with wraparound support services, to students at five South and West Side Chicago high schools—and one parent or guardian from each household. The program gave Short and her mother the chance to attend college, easing financial pressure on the family as they sought to pursue their degrees at the same time.
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