On a recent school night at Mansueto High School in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, college recruiters from around Illinois made their pitch to an unlikely audience — one whose members have every reason to believe that college is not for them. The event was the sixth annual college fair hosted by the Noble Schools charter network specifically for undocumented students.
“It’s very welcoming, because the universities are like, ‘Yes, come to us, we got you. We’ll help you pay for this. We’ll give you scholarships. We’ll build this club,’” said Brisa Angel, a college counselor, as she watched her students talk to recruiters. “It’s one thing to see it on a sheet: ‘Okay, these are your options.’ And a whole other thing is walking into a fair and talking to people who are like, ‘Yeah, we have these resources.’”
Kevin Guzman, a student at ITW David Speer Academy on Chicago’s West Side, said that before the event, he doubted college was a possibility for him because of his immigration status.
“I was originally going to do the military, because I thought that was going to be the easy way out. … I was gonna get my citizenship, and I was gonna get a whole bunch of money,” Guzman said. “Now I’m looking at these colleges out here, and I’m like, ‘Okay, maybe, maybe there’s a chance for me.’”
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For years, undocumented students have been told in big and little ways that they do not belong in college. They do not have access to federal financial aid and, in most states, have to pay out-of-state tuition rates without the help of state grants.
But in Illinois, undocumented students have a better shot at getting into and paying for college. The state is one of 19 where undocumented students can apply for state funding and one of 25 where they pay in-state tuition rates.
Just as important is the network of adults working overtime to help these students navigate a maze of paperwork and find a campus where they can get the support they need to succeed. That network includes Angel, who was once an undocumented high schooler with college dreams.
A counselor answers questions from high schoolers at a college fair for undocumented students in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood last week. Illinois is one of 19 states in which undocumented students can receive state financial aid to go to college.
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“I didn’t know what it meant to really be undocumented until I came to apply to college,” Angel said about the hurdles she had to overcome to access higher education. “That was actually really terrifying, because I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, what am I going to do with my life?’ ”
Angel said her college counselor stepped in and helped her submit applications to 42 colleges.
“She was like, ‘I don’t know what it means to be undocumented, but I got you,’” Angel said. “She basically held my hand and dragged me across, and she was like, ‘You’re not gonna give up. You’re not gonna give up.’”
Now Angel is paying it forward. Three months ago, she became a college counselor at ITW David Speer Academy, the high school she attended. She wants younger generations of students to have college options too, whether or not they have legal immigration status.
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Her efforts come as tuition costs and student debt are rising and more Americans are questioning the value of college. A poll published by Gallup in July found that nearly one-third of Americans have little to no confidence in higher education.
But the work of Angel and advocates for undocumented students across the state is a rejection of skepticism of college — from one of the communities with the least access to it.
“College is not the only pathway to be successful. That is true,” said Aidé Acosta, chief college advisor for the Noble network. “But are we telling all kids that? Or are we only telling Black and brown kids that? Because I refuse to revive gendered and racialized tropes about our communities, that college is not possible for them.”
Acosta, who was once undocumented, said her parents did not have college degrees and had to work long hours at physically exhausting jobs. She said they wanted something different for her.
“We often talk to students who are just finding out for the first time what their status means and feel hopeless,” she said. “And I always remind them that education is the one thing … that nobody will take away from you, no matter where you find yourself in life, in the world.”
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It’s something students can hold onto, she said, when there is so much — including their legal status in this country — that is not within their grasp.
Lisa Kurian Philip covers higher education for WBEZ, in partnership withOpen Campus. Follow her on Twitter@LAPhilip.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Will Riley scored his 19 points in the second half and No. 25 Illinois beat Maryland Eastern Shore 87-40 on Saturday.
Kylan Boswell added 13 points, Tomislav Ivisic had 11 and Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Illini (4-1), who shot 25% (10 for 40) from 3-point range but committed just nine turnovers.
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Tre White grabbed 11 rebounds and Kasparas Jakucionis seven for Illinois, which outrebounded the Hawks 59-38.
Jalen Ware scored 10 points and Christopher Flippin had 10 rebounds for Maryland Eastern Shore (2-6), which had its lowest point total of the season. The team’s previous low came in 102-63 loss to Vanderbilt on Nov. 4.
Illinois is unbeaten in four home games. Maryland Eastern Shore is winless in six road games.
Takeaways
Illinois: Coming off a 100-87 loss Wednesday to No. 8 Alabama, the Illini had no trouble dominating the overmatched Hawks. They led 35-15 at halftime and extended the lead to as many as 52 points in the second half.
Maryland Eastern Shore: The Hawks couldn’t match Illinois’ height and depth and were slowed by 15 turnovers.
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Key moment
After struggling at the start of the game, the Illini went on a 17-0 run over a seven-minute stretch to move in front 25-8 with 5:15 to go in the first half.
Key stat
Maryland Eastern Shore struggled from the field, shooting 22% (15 for 68), including 5 for 20 on 3-pointers.
Up next
Illinois hosts Little Rock on Monday. Maryland Eastern Shore plays at No. 20 Arkansas on Monday.
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The women’s Illinois basketball team continued to impress on Friday night with another big win.
Coming into the game, the Illini were 4-0 and had already beaten a top-25 program in Florida State and a good team in Marquette. We were on top of the world.
It would be understandable for a letdown game to happen. Illinois didn’t let it happen, though. We came out of the gates firing, and Oregon State didn’t have answers.
Illinois played well in both halves. We took a 10-point lead into the halftime locker room and quickly expanded on that lead in the third quarter. By the game’s end, Illinois managed to secure an 85-66 win over Oregon State.
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Coming into the game on Friday night, Illinois has been able to hold their own when it comes to the rebounding department. But this wasn’t an easy matchup, as Oregon State is a good rebounding team as well.
Despite Oregon State having some great size, the Illini were tough on the boards. We were able to pull down rebounds at a rate that I was impressed with considering the opposing team had a 6-foot-7 center starting.
Illinois finished the game pulling down 36 rebounds compared to Oregon State’s 34 rebounds. Five of the 36 rebounds were on the offensive glass too, but we didn’t have a ton of opportunities considering the team shot 54.7% from the field.
The thing that impressed me the most about Illinois’ rebounding ability on Friday night was the size differential. Oregon State trotted out a 6-foot-7 center and a 6-foot-5 forward. We limited those two players to just 12 rebounds in 42 minutes of game action.
I think a big part of the great rebounding effort on the part of Illinois is the fact our frontcourt is strong and athletic. It is hard to move Kendall Bostic off her spot, and she does a great job boxing out. The same can be said for Brynn Shoup-Hill. Both players were quicker than anything Oregon State had in the frontcourt too.
Gainesville, Fla., – The No. 21 Florida Gators men’s basketball team cruised to a 93-68 win over Southern Illinois on Friday to stay undefeated in the 2024-25 season. They used a hot night offensively from senior Alijah Martin and Thomas Haugh to help ease to the finish line in this one.
Florida started this game positively compared to their previous outings. They came out the gates easily putting the ball through the net, resulting in an early 9-2 lead over Southern Illinois by the 16-minute mark.
However, things began to unravel over the next five to six minutes of the game. During this span, the Gators shot just 2-for-11 from the field, which allowed their opponents to cut the Gators’ lead to just one point.
Fortunately, they began to find their rhythm and they did it in a very loud way.
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With around eight minutes left in the half until about the last two minutes, the Gators went on a 22-2 run with some crowd-pleasing plays from Martin and Alex Condon along the way. The first one came from a steal by Martin that was dished off to Denzel Aberdeen who then lobbed it to Condon for the easy slam in transition.
Then, on the next possession for Southern Illinois, the Gators came up with another steal that quickly made its way into Martin’s hands for a high-flying slam that got the crowd on its feet.
After this big run, the Gators found themselves leading 41-17 over their opponents.
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This run really blew it wide open for Florida and by the final whistle of the first half, they were leading 46-25 over Southern Illinois.
The Gators were led in this half by Martin and Thomas Haugh. Martin contributed 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. He was also 4-for-7 from 3. Haugh – the more surprising standout from the first half – was having his way offensively as well. The sophomore was 4-for-7 overall and 3-for-4 from 3. He also made both of his free throw attempts in the half, which gave him 13 first-half points.
The beginning of the half was dull for the Gators. The offense didn’t make its first basket until the 18-minute mark and it was a layup from Walter Clayton Jr. This stagnant play was short lived though.
That is because Martin came alive for the Gators once again. The senior went unconscious from deep, hitting four consecutive 3’s for the Gators that included one from the logo with the shot clock expiring. By the end of his scoring tirade, the Gators led 67-38 over their opposition.
Then, not too long after this, the Gator fans got their next highlight play. This time, it came from Haugh. The wing came flying in over the defense and got big for a putback slam to extend the Gators’ lead to 30.
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From here, the Gators were on cruise control. Southern Illinois had some stretches offensively, but never really threatened to come back in this one. In the end, Florida won 93-68 over Southern Illinois.
Alijah Martin was unstoppable in this one. He ended the game with 32 points on 11-for-19 shooting and 8-for-13 from behind the arc. He also brought down 8 rebounds and dished out five assists in this one.
Also, Martin’s eight 3’s gave him a new career high in this category. Any time he let it fly, it felt like it was going in, he said after the game.
“I just felt like every one of them was going in,” Martin said.
Haugh, on the other hand, actually set a career-high in scoring against Southern Illinois. He poured in 19 points, shooting 6-for-10 overall and 3-for-5 from 3. He also was perfect from the line, hitting all four of his free throw attempts.
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His performance from behind the arc and at the charity stripe was great on the night and these were something he worked all summer on he said.
“I worked on (3-point shooting) a lot,” Haugh said. “I didn’t shoot the ball the greatest at the beginning of the year, but teammates still trusted me. And just like starting to hopefully get into a rhythm here cause all the work hopefully going to show soon.”
It’s a long break until the Gators return to action. Their next game isn’t until next Thursday when they take on Wake Forest at the ESPN Events Invitational. That game is slated for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff in Orlando and will be televised on ESPN.
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