The Black McDonald’s Operators Association of Chicago and Northwest Indiana continues its great work in the urban community. They have partnered with Metropolitan Family Services to help send 40 high school students from Chicago’s South Side on a four-day, multi-state college tour. The students will be visiting 10 colleges and a number of them are historically Black universities.
We spoke to Derrick Taylor, president of BMOA, about the dedication that BMOA has to the community and why this endeavor was so important “Well, we are dedicated wherever we are, that’s for sure. Itt could be Northwest Indiana or the West Side of Chicago. Each one of our operators is involved in some type of community program or several community programs simultaneously because that’s where our needs and our love is. This is easy for us, we love giving back; we understand the plight of our people and we just try to be who we are — leaders. We try to show the kids the best way possible. It’s just in our blood and our DNA.”
The students converged on the McDonald’s on 96th and Halsted on the South Side ready to embark on this new adventure. We spoke with LaTisha Council, a sophomore at DuSable High School, about why this college tour is important to her. “I want to learn what I’m looking for in a college, basically I want to get an idea about what I’m interested in and the choices that I have. I want to learn how the values and the communities are different,” she said.
The opportunity to travel the United States in order to visit institutions of higher education is invaluable. Many of the students have not traveled beyond the borders of the South Side. Now they will see the world open up before their eyes.
Congratulations to these youth, and kudos to BMOA and Metropolitan Family Services for providing the push that they need.
