Students at Leyden District 212 named state scholars, share how they’re succeeding during pandemic

Twenty-four East Leyden High School students and 16 West Leyden High School students were named Illinois State Scholars for 2022-23 by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. This honor recognizes students for outstanding academic achievement. There is no monetary award attached but it’s a significant honor that is given to approximately the top 10% of graduating students.

Four students spoke with this newspaper to share details about what they’ve gone through and what they hope to accomplish.

Aliah Rubio: aerospace engineering

“It’s a great sense of achievement that I know that many other students and I worked hard for,” said West Leyden student Aliah A. Rubio of Melrose Park of becoming an Illinois State Scholar. “It’s a way to showcase that.”

Rubio is still weighing her options regarding her choice of colleges but wherever she goes, she will major in aerospace engineering.

“It’s been my dream since I was a freshman in high school,” she explained. “For the past years I’ve been working up to it and hopefully I can reach my goal in the coming years. The engineering classes in my school—they offer Intro to Engineering and Principles of Engineering—really helped me discover this passion.”

Rubio is particularly enjoying her English and physics classes. She is one of the leaders of Operation Snowball Club, which supports drug-free living and positive mental health.

Her father works at a company that sells parts to aerospace companies and her mother works in human relations at Target. The entire family is bilingual, speaking English and Spanish.

In terms of remote learning, Rubio said, “It was really hard for everybody to keep up, especially with the new type of learning that we all had to get used to. But in a way the school’s accommodations really helped. Something positive that came out about it was that we had a lot of time to ourselves. And I used that time to my benefit to study and work on my homework.”

Julia Cerven: asking a lot of questions

“This means that all of my hard work is paying off and being recognized,” said East Leyden student Julia C. Cerven of River Grove.

Cerven hasn’t decided what college she will attend yet. “I’m looking at all my options,” she explained. She has decided, however, that she will major in marketing.

“At my school, I’ve taken a few business-type electives and I always figured that I wanted to do something in the business world,” she said. “Those electives helped me pinpoint what exactly I liked and I really enjoyed marketing.”

Both of Cerven’s parents work for health insurance companies.

Cerven admitted that attending school remotely during the pandemic was a challenge for her. “I’m more of an in-person, hands-on learner so it was definitely more difficult for me,” she said.

In order to deal with that, she noted, “I would make sure the space was organized, take really good notes, and if I was really confused on a concept I would talk to my teacher after class or before class. I’d make sure to ask a lot of questions because I feel it’s easier to get confused over a screen as opposed to in person.”

Cerven’s favorite subjects are math and English. She enjoys working out and participating in athletics.

Ema Karajic: a nursing career

“I’m very honored to be recognized. It means a lot to me,” said East Leyden student Ema Karajic of Franklin Park. She is planning to attend Triton College for the first two years and then transfer to the University of Illinois at Chicago to pursue a nursing career.

“I really like helping people,” she explained.

Karajic’s father is a truck driver and her mother is a janitor.

Remote learning “wasn’t the best,” Karajic said. “It was really hard trying to learn over the computer. I made sure to turn my computer on on time, try to teach myself as best I could, ask questions if I needed help, watch readings on YouTube.” Her favorite subjects are math and science.

In her spare time, Karajic enjoys working out. She also has a job as a counselor at a daycare center in Schiller Park.

Karajic’s entire family is bilingual. They all speak English and Bosnian.

Brian Porrua: headed to Emory University

West Leyden student Brian R. Porrua of Northlake said that being an Illinois State Scholar, “means for me that all of my hard work and dedication to my schoolwork has finally paid off.”

Porrua has a full-ride scholarship to Emory University in Atlanta through QuestBridge. That organization’s website describes it as “a national nonprofit based in Palo Alto, California that connects the nation’s most exceptional, low-income youth with leading colleges and opportunities.”

Porrua plans to major in nursing. “I would like to become a nurse-administrator or nurse-practitioner,” he said. “Especially during the pandemic, I learned to respect and value the importance that nurses have, not only in the hospital setting but in the world in general.”

Porrua’s father works at a paint factory and his mother is a stay-at-home mom. His parents only speak Spanish but Porrua and his siblings are bilingual.

Studying remotely during the pandemic “was a little bit different; a new kind of way of learning,” he said. “But, like all things, I think it’s important to shift your balances and your focus a little bit so that you can succeed in whatever situation.”

Porrua particularly enjoys his math and science classes, especially chemistry and physics. “I feel like they’ve really shown me the reality of how science and math plays into real life situations,” he noted.

The rest of the scholars

The other Illinois State Scholars from East Leyden are Adam Arabik, Kacper M. Bakun, Dale N. Buencillo, Hamza W. Elayan, Joshua G. Julian, Sara Juszkiewicz, Arthur G. Kot, David M. Koziel, Jillianne Loren Legaspi, Diego F. Loveshe, Maua Madej, Danielle Milla Munoz, Veronika Z. Miskowiec, Armin Mrzljak, Deena A. Pasumarthi, Jordy C. Pinero, Arthur L. Pisanko, Kristen Reinhofer, Cyrill J. Reyes, Arviel Robles, Vanessa Stankiewicz, and Wiktoria A. Wilk.

West Leyden’s other Illinois State Scholars are Joseph R. Campeotto, Nicholas D. Campeotto, Jeffrey Cisneros, Juliana G. Damian, Cassandra Delgado Garcia, Juan J. Frangoso, Patrick A. Gadocha, Daniel Lechuga, Daniela Lopez Corrales, Mateusz M. Mindowcz, Weronika M. Mroziak, Omar I. Rivera-Romero, Ulises Trejo Montes, and Zuzanna M. Wojtasik.

Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.