Holiday decorations adorning downtown Waukegan’s light poles on Genesee Street, between Grand Avenue and Lake Street, are the handiwork of members of the Waukegan High School Student Council.
Council members decorated downtown Waukegan for the holidays and conducted a food drive Sunday at Jack Benny Plaza, helping those in need and adding a festive environment to the city for the holiday season.
Ilyani Mai, a senior, the council’s event officer and one of the organizers of the day’s events, said the council has met virtually all school year because of the coronavirus pandemic. That is how they planned the event. They felt it was time to get out and do something visible.
“We wanted to do something for the holidays, and we knew people are having a hard time right now,” Mai said. “We hope this will make things brighter for people when they’re downtown. We wanted to do something to help the community.”
Mai said the food was going to people in the community who were in need during the holiday season. She said the council was able to learn about situations where the edibles would be appreciated and will be arranging delivery.
Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham, who was not at the event, said he is proud of the effort the students are making to both help others, and do something residents can appreciate during the holiday season.
“This effort of not only decorating our city in connection with a food drive tells me and our county our young men and ladies appreciate where they live, and at the same time trying to help those in need in their neighborhoods,” Cunningham said when he learned of the effort.
While decorating the city and collecting the food, the teens had a chance to do something else they rarely do anymore. They spent time together as friends, face to face. Their looks were hidden by masks, and they stayed socially distant outdoors.
Waukegan seniors Michelle Flores, Samantha Poniente and Gisselle Vargas were one of two teams of students hanging the lights. Poniente stood on a ladder near the corner of Genesee and Water street, as Flores and Vargas spotted her below while the trio strung holiday lights on a pole.
“It feels good to do something for the community, and it’s good to be with friends,” Poniente said. “The pandemic has taken a toll on our lives. It’s refreshing to see everyone and talk to each other.”
Vargas said learning through a computer screen, and then conducting council business the same way after regular school hours, has been a challenge since school became remote in March. They were juniors then. They have not experienced any of their senior year on campus.
“It’s great to be with other people,” Vargas said. “It’s nice we can do this with each other.”
“I can see their smiles through their masks,” added Flores.
Maggie Strojinc, one of the two student council faculty advisors, said the holiday lights attached to the lampposts — along with the haystacks, large candy canes and other ornaments in Jack Benny Plaza — are the sole downtown decorations other than the municipal Christmas tree. The tree, which will stand in the plaza, will be lit Saturday.
Strojinc said for the last few years decorating downtown Waukegan for the holidays was the province of 2020 Waukegan High School graduate Austin Cantu. Now a freshman at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, he joined his former schoolmates to assist with the decorations and offer some guidance.
Cantu said he started doing things to beautify downtown Waukegan when he was in eighth-grade. He said he heard stories from his elders about the one-time vibrancy of the central business district, and wants to see a resurgence.
“People would talk about Chicago and how great it is,” he said. “That talked about how Waukegan used to be like that. I want to see it come back.”
Starting to decorate downtown for the holidays in 2017, Cantu said he was thrilled when the Student Council decided to join the effort this year. He could feel the added energy.
“What used to take day,s now is only a few hours,” he said.
Getting a chance to spend time with friends, decorate her community for the holidays and help people who are hungry also gave Mai a chance to strike back at a virus which has transformed her senior year in high school.
“I feel the virus has robbed us of so much,” she said. “By doing something for the community, it will make everyone feel better.”
