To say that Aron Pobereskin is the next Charlie Trotter or Grant Achatz isn’t making a prediction. It’s simply stating the ambitious goal that Aron has set for himself. “I want to be one of the top chefs of my generation in this country. I know that sounds egotistical, but it’s a personal challenge and […]
Damiana Andonova came to the North Shore from a small town in Bulgaria when she was in second grade. Her parents immigrated five years earlier. “We had sheep and goats,” she recalls. “To make do was difficult.” Her experience as an immigrant has given Damiana a broad worldview and a strong desire to give back—a […]
Garrett Jones has his priorities in order. Family and school first, then basketball. “My mom always told me, ‘If you don’t have your academics straight, you won’t go where you want to go,’” he says. And he listened to his mother: He’s headed to University of New Hampshire this fall to major in history and […]
Like all kids, Mason Isaac loves presents, but the kind of gifts that get him jumping up and down aren’t little plastic toys or electronic gadgets. Mason gets excited by envelopes with donations to save the polar bears or build a school in Afghanistan. “I have plenty of toys,” he says. So since his second […]
In the heat of summer, the Chicago Botanic Garden has students digging, weeding and exercising their green thumbs as part of the Green Youth Farm. The one-acre farm is located in the Greenbelt Forest Preserve off Green Bay Road in Waukegan. Youth from various Chicago public high schools come together every summer for hands-on experience […]
In honor of Memorial Day later this month, Make It Better is interviewing local veterans every week during May. This week, we feature Morey Coleman. At 28, Coleman was drafted in March of 1943 to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II. After training, he serviced tanks overseas in the 126th Armored Ordinance […]
In honor of Memorial Day, we are interviewing local veterans every week during May. This week, we feature Staff Sergeant Charlie Austin. Austin was in U.S. Air Force for 3 years, and served in the Korean War for 22 months, starting when the war broke out in the summer of 1950. Originally from North Carolina, […]
Two men embarked on a journey to put a new face on autism—one with humor and soul and empathy. Filmmaker Gerardine Wurzburg went along for the ride. Her new documentary, “Wretches and Jabberers” will be shown in Chicago on Thursday, May 12, as part of a nationwide event: 100 Cities. One Night for Autism. […]
The music starts and Annie Beserra, standing in the center of a circle of 8th graders at Saints Faith, Hope & Charity Catholic School, counts off: “5-6-7-8!” The students strike a pose, then bounce away from the circle, come back in, jump up, turn around and hit their landing. It’s a bit messy, but the […]
In honor of Memorial Day later this month, Make It Better is interviewing local veterans every week during May. This week, we feature Dr. Ken Kells. Kells was in U.S. Army for 3 years, and served in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1968. Originally from Chicago’s West Side, Kells is 62, works as a […]
