East St. Louis Center

George Beck of East St. Louis finally snagged a job after filling out 22 applications. Rita McKnuckles and Eloise Taylor, both of East St. Louis, eagerly await their weekly Google Digital Skills class. These are just a few examples that prove how valuable the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Learning Resource Center (LRC) is, according to Tomoko Jo, program assistant for career services. 

“My role as the career service provider is to flatten each patron’...

For the decades of service to his faith and church, to communities near and far, to educational bastions and deserts, and to equity and justice, the Rev. Joseph A. Brown, PhD, will be honored during a Sankofa Celebration/Symposium and Mass from Friday-Sunday, May 13-15 at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center (ESLC). 

The event serves as an observance of Brown’s impact and work. Specifically, his 60th anniversary of entering the Society of Jesus (the Jes...

Wonder women, Black panthers and supermen were there – dressed with their own special flair, dancing, mingling and having a great time. “Superheroes” at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center (ESLC) participated in SIUE’s Faculty and Staff Appreciation (FSA) celebration on Wednesday, April 20 held for the first time on the East St. Louis campus. 

SIUE also held an FSA day on Tuesday, April 12 in Edwardsville and plans to host a gathering on ...

Helping students succeed, keeping them connected and providing lots of resources were a few things participants praised their program instructors for at their End of the Year and Awards Celebration. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center Collinsville’s Upward Bound Scholars Academy (UBSA) held its concluding ceremony on Thursday, April 28 at Collinsville High School. 

“We are so proud of each of you for being hard working and doing your best,” sai...

As 10^th grader Mariah Fox’s name was called for yet another award, tears came to the eyes of her mother, Lectisha Muse-Fox, who later expressed much appreciation for the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) program at Collinsville High School (CHS).

Fox was one of the more than 150 students, family members and friends who attended the UBMS End of the Year Awards Ceremony and Summer Orientation on April 27 at CHS. 

“This program has spa...

First came the lesson, then the application and the result was freshly brushed and polished teeth. Bright Smiles Mobile Dental, of Swansea, concluded its services to more than 60 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students on Friday, April 22. 

“We have to report to the state regarding students’ physical, vision and dental exams,” said CHS nurse Marquita Holton, LPN, who contacted and coordinated the dental visits. “We...

Negative narratives, bad perceptions and stereotypical typecasting about the Illinois town is why former and current East St. Louis residents wanted to tell their own stories about their city. 

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center hosted “Meet the Authors: A Look at East St. Louis Through Real Community Stories” on Monday, April 11 in the SIUE East St. Louis Learning Resource Center. 

 “...

The 92-year-old Holocaust survivor, former Afghanistan Peace Corps director and strategic planning consultant has seen many parts of the world like France, China, Belgrade and Moscow. But for Walter Blass, one of the best places to be is in front of a class teaching – and he will travel the globe to do it. 

Blass arrived in Springfield on Sunday, April 3 for his Southern Illinois University (SIU) System campus visits. He toured and delivered presentations at SIU School of Medicine in...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) students at Collinsville High School (CHS) got a better understanding about how the stomach works, and how drugs are absorbed into the system. 

SIUE’s School of Pharmacy (SOP), in its first time partnering with UBMS, introduced an experiment and presentation on Thursday, March 31 during an afterschool workshop, Think Tank Thursday. Jessica Kerr, PharmD, SOP associate dean; and Deja Finley, PharmD, SOP clin...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville today announced plans to participate in the Summer Food Service Program.  

Free meals will be made available to all children 18 years of age and under, and to persons over 18 years of age who are enrolled in its summer program.  

Meals are made available to all eligible participants without regard to race, color, sex, age, disability, or national origin. Any person who believes that he or she has been discriminated against in any US...

To help promote socialization and combat isolation, The Gateway (IL) Chapter of The Links, Inc. gifted a “poSITivity” bench on Monday, March 28 to benefit students, families and staff of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center (ESLC) and the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus (ESLHEC). 

“I would like to thank The Links for this bench, which I will be using,” said ESLC Executive Director Timothy Staples, EdD, after the unveiling. “We...

The biggest takeaway for the high schooler was how to conduct himself in a college course. Davieon Baker, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Upward Bound (UB) EC/BEM student, was one of 15 scholars enrolled in SIUE’s inaugural course, “UNIV 113: Topics in Early College Exploration.” 

“Topics in Early College Exploration” is taught by its creator, Makesha Harris Lee, EdD, director of SIUE’s CORE T.E.A.M. (College ...

A state-of-the-art robot dog, Bode, made an appearance and garnered much attention and applause during the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School’s (CHS) STEAM Day on Monday, March 21. 

The SIUE School of Engineering (SOE) brought Bode to kick off the day of activities and games featuring science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). 

“Our main objective is to get CHS students excited about engineering,” said S...

Free professional coaching and grooming were dispensed to a select group of men on Saturday, March 19 in East St. Louis in hopes of advancing their career opportunities. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Office of Online Services and Educational Outreach collaborated with the Illinois Coalition for Community Services (ICCS) to present the pilot program, Clippers and Careers, for men ages 20-24. 

“The Office of Online Services and Educational Outreach is committed to offer...

Some of the most important learning can occur outside of the classroom. Examples of such will be given during the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) Midday Speaker Series, which began Monday, March 14. 

SIUE’s CORE T.E.A.M. (College Readiness: Transition, Engage, Achieve and Mentor) Department is presenting a speaker series featuring SIUE student leaders, according to Fannie Acoff, CORE T.E.A.M. program coordinator. The presentations, w...

“What matters most are the people who walk through our doors. We can offer social mobility with programming offered from cradle to career. That is truly significant, and a powerful position that demands our attention and support." 

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Chancellor James T. Minor, PhD, shared those words following visits with educators, mentors, staff and students at the SIUE East St. Louis Center (ESLC) this week. 

“At SIUE, we realize the potential in...

A group of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) Black high school students had the opportunity to meet and mingle with a contingent of SIUE’s Black Girls Rock (BGR) during a fashion show on Friday, Feb. 25 on the Edwardsville campus. 

“When the occasion to attend the SIUE Black Girls Rock Fashion Show presented itself, I invited my Black female high school students in hopes they would connect with students they could identify with,&#822...

Known for writing with alarming brilliance, artistic prowess and riveting relevance that captures young adult audiences worldwide, New York Times Best Selling and award-winning author Tiffany D. Jackson held a series of presentations and book signings on Monday, Feb. 28 for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students. 

The critically-acclaimed author of more than 12 books has received awards for her young adult novels, Allegedly, Monday&#8217...

The history of East St. Louis and surrounding communities unearths times of adventure and innovation, success and prosperity, struggle and pain, and violence and racism. 

Bob Gill, East St. Louis Historical Society member, presented a history of East St. Louis entitled, “City of Challenges, City of Champions” on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Learning Resource Center (LRC). The historical society and LRC collaboratively brought ...

Revealing and enlightening facts of ancient African history were compared to the sometimes twisted, racist depiction of Blacks in America’s past during the program, “Black History 365,” at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Learning Resource Center (LRC). 

Norman Ross, retired executive director of the Greater East St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, joined Jaye P. Willis, poet, author, playwright; Lillian Parks, EdD, community activist and retired su...

“The Star-Spangled Banner,” performed Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougar’s Men’s basketball game, had a special ring to it thanks to the SIUE East St. Louis Center for Performing Arts chimes choir, led by Mary Jo Pembrook, PhD, piano and chimes instructor. 

The chimes choir, joined by SIUE students Joshua Freund, Taylor Smith and Jerome Ukah; SIUE alumna Ana Cecelia Villegas; and SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook, performed the na...

Money. Bills. Benjamins. Everybody wants it, but not everyone knows how to cultivate it. Olympic legend and gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee presented a check and congratulations on Thursday, Feb. 10 to the seventh graduating class of the financial literacy course, made possible in part by the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start program. 

SIUE partners with the Jackie Joyner-Kersee (JJK) Foundation and the Associated Bank in East St. Louis to offer the 1...

It started with the love and awe of a role model (wanting to mirror her sister’s characteristics and follow in her footsteps) that led the then four-year-old Kayona Brown onto a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center for Performing Arts studio dance floor. 

It didn’t take long for the child to also become enamored with the world of dance. That was 12 years ago, and the East St. Louis native is still practicing and performing with the program. 

&#8...

It only takes one educator to make a world of difference in the life of a student, according to Principal Baruti Kafele, award-winning educator and best-selling author. 

Kafele returned, via Zoom on Thursday, Jan. 13, to the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) with inspiration to stay the course and look for ways to progress in reaching, motivating and educating students.

Kafele, who calls himself “America’s Principal” and a...

With the melodies of the season like “Deck the Halls,” “This Christmas” and “Sleigh Bells,” Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Center for the Performing Arts students gave a festive and multi-talented performance during their Holiday Celebration on Thursday, Dec. 16 in the Multipurpose Room in Building D at the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus. 

Performances included musical numbers on the piano, chimes and drums, and dance numbers that were...