Education — Community Gardening

Katrell Armstead: 10th grade North Chicago High School

Katrell applied to work at GYF for the first time because she wants to learn how to grow different foods. Her favorite job at the farm is harvesting and preparing the crops we have grown. Katrell may seem quiet, but she loves to crack jokes, sing, and play guitar.

Andre Butler: 12th grade North Chicago Community High School

Andre is a returner from 3 years ago, and after two years of working elsewhere, he says he came back to GYF because he enjoys being outside and watering plants. His favorite food is asparagus and he enjoys playing basketball.

Samuel Callahan: Crew Leader: 11th grade Shoreland Lutheran High School

This is Sam’s second year at GYF and was hired as a crew leader this year because he has great potential as a leader. He loves GYF because he can make money while learning about plants and their role in the ecosystem. Sam’s favorite task is working with the bees because he learns how to be calm and gentle with potentially harmful insects.

Patrick Coleman: 10th grade North Chicago Community High School

Although this is Pat’s first year, he is already excited about learning how a farm works and every aspect that is involved in this process. He enjoys eating French fries, and he loves harvesting because of the rewarding feeling you get when you see the final product of what you’ve grown

Jesus Cuezzi: 12th grade Waukegan High School

This is Jesus’ first year at GYF, but you wouldn’t think it by how well he gets along with everyone. Jesus is really interested in learning about organic farming methods on our farm. Jesus is an avid musician and loves playing sports during breaks.

Jacqueline Galinato: 10th grade North Chicago Community High School

For a first year student, Jackie is already very knowledgeable about vegetables and how they can be used. Her favorite task is harvesting, and she often takes produce home. Her favorite food is sushi and she can tell you how to make some delicous pork chops.

Marina Garcia: 12th grade, Waukegan High School

Marina is one of our more joyful workers, and you can always count on her for a hug. For the past two years, Marina has grown a mini family at Green Youth Farm and is excited for her third year back on the farm. She enjoys working with our honeybees and outside GYF you can probably find her practicing badminton.

Addie Guzman: Graduate of Waukegan High School

This is Addie’s third season at GYF and she has decided to take on the role of crew leader. After all these summers spent at GYF, she still enjoys meeting new people and learning new things at the farm. Outside of work you can probably find her running or hanging out with her friends and family.

Julio Guzman: 11th grade, Waukegan High School

Earlier this season, Julio almost flew away in a gust of wind while he was putting row cover over the tomatoes. Thankfully, we still have him with us because he is an enthusiastic worker and loves to start slow claps on the farm. Outside of the farm he loves to run and eat Cheesy Swiss Chard bake with our freshly harvested Chard.

Charles Houston: 12th grade, North Chicago Community High School

Charles has an incredible gift of impersonations and can usually get anyone on the farm to laugh with any number of his cartoon impressions. He likes to work at Green Youth Farm because he likes to work with plants and he wanted to do something productive over the summer.

Ambria Johnson: 11th grade, Tremper High School

Ambria has been a crew member at GYF for three years and as a returner she is always very welcoming to our guests. You can always find her talking and cracking jokes with other members of the farm. She likes eating French fries and she will never let you forget that she’s from Alabama.

Joshua Johnson: Crew leader: Graduate of Tremper High School

Josh is the longest returning crew member GYF has ever seen – and he decided to finish out his high school career with us as a crew leader. Outside of work Josh is a heavy weight boxer and he enjoys “smashing/maxin/destroying” food all day!

Tyrone Linder: 10th grade North Chicago Community High School

Tyrone is at GYF for his first year, and as an athlete, he provides the other students with motivation and leadership. He loves playing basketball at North Chicago and he works at the farm because he likes to grow plants and do other types of farm work.

Crishana Mayfield: 11th grade Zion Benton High School

In her second year at GYF, Crishana has come back with lots of enthusiasm and motivation for the farm. She is one of our expert chefs and helps her crew members when they cook community lunches. You can never really lose Crishana on the farm because all you have to do is listen for her laugh.

Adam Mendoza: 12th grade North Chicago Community High School

It is hard to tell that Adam has only been at GYF for one year, because he gets along so well with everyone at the farm. He mainly applied for this job because he wanted to feel a greater sense of community. Adam likes cleaning tools, and his out-of-farm activities consist of football, running, and hockey.

Daisy Ochoa: 11th grade Waukegan High School

Daisy is in her second year at GYF, because she believes that every year she has something new to learn from the farm. Daisy is one of the hardest workers, and motivates the people around her to work just as hard. She especially likes cooking the community lunches, eating strawberries and tomatoes and has discovered a new found love for GYF ultimate frisbee.

Mario Padilla: 12th grade Waukegan High School

This is Mario’s second year working at GYF and he always has a smile on his face. He has a lot of energy especially when it comes to soccer and kickball. Mario likes growing plants and his favorite task is harvesting because he can eat as he harvests.

Marvin Warfield: 10th grade North Chicago Community High School

This is Marvin’s first year at Green Youth Farm. Marvin tried many new things this summer including Ultimate Frisbee and eating turnips. Marvin loves to harvest from the farm because he gets to take food home. He would like to work here again so he can learn more about healthy eating.

Katherine Williams: 12th grade, Waukegan High School

When Katherine was younger, she used to help her grandma in her vegetable garden and Green Youth Farm helps to keep those memories alive. In her second season, Katherine has decided to take on the role of crew leader and she has proven herself to be a responsible leader. Katherine is our resident baker and especially loves to make zucchini bread with zucchini from our farm.