This post was written by Ms. Lauren Martire, East Leyden TSI teacher.
On Tuesday, I got a surprise visit from a former TSI student, Zaid Alaraj. I asked Zaid why he did not respond to my email about being included in a “Where Are they Now?” blog post. His reasoning was that he had nothing going on and nothing exciting to share.
I disagree!
On Tuesday, I got a surprise visit from a former TSI student, Zaid Alaraj. I asked Zaid why he did not respond to my email about being included in a “Where Are they Now?” blog post. His reasoning was that he had nothing going on and nothing exciting to share.
I disagree!
Zaid is currently a freshman at Triton College and concentrating on taking his general education classes. When not at Triton, Zaid spends his time working at not one, not two but THREE part-time jobs. He works at Lolli & Pops, Watch Me and Asics - all three located at the new Fashion Outlets in Rosemont.
Zaid’s experiences in TSI have helped him at work, specifically at Lolli & Pops, whose register system is based on computer technologies. In addition, at Lolli & Pops, he set up an audio visual system to use for advertising purposes - something that the store managers have been trying to set up for a while but did not know how to.
It is not surprising that Zaid would offer his technology skills while at work. Not only was Zaid a stand-out TSI student, he worked in TSI all summer repairing & preparing the graduated senior Chromebooks so that they could be reissued to the incoming freshman. Zaid does have one TSI regret - not pursuing a CompTIA A+ certification. He recently applied to be a technician with Best Buy’s Geek Squad but was turned away because they only hire workers who are A+ certified. His advice to all TSI students is to get as many certifications as they possibly can.
All the technical skills he learned in TSI will also help him in his further studies. After spending two years at Triton, he is planning to transfer to either UIC or University of Illinois to finish his studies in Mechanical Engineering.
During Zaid’s visit, I also asked him if he missed Leyden. His answer - an enthusiastic “YES!”. He misses everything about Leyden: his teachers; his locker; even the drama! In fact, Zaid even had his 2013 Leyden Junior Olympics tshirt on. He is also a little bummed that he is unable to experience some of the cool building changes like the newly remodeled art wing.
Zaid’s advice to current Leyden students, especially the seniors preparing for college, is to apply for as many scholarships as possible. He loves that he is practically “getting paid to go to Triton”. Due to scholarships, all his tuition and books are paid for. In addition, he gets money for food, gas, school supplies, etc.
Overall, I would say that I won the small disagreement that Zaid and I had. He has A LOT going on and MANY exciting things to share!
Click below to read previous "Where Are They Now?" blog posts.
Jesse Fuentes
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