Alan
Age: 15
Grade: 10
School: Cristo Rey St. Martin

What are you most interested in/excited for this summer on the farm?
Going on field trips and meeting new people

What's your favorite vegetable?
Carrot

What is a fun or surprising fact about you?
I have a dog

Bruce

Age: 15
Grade: 10
School: DRW Trading College Prep

What's your favorite vegetable?
Onions

What are you most interested in/excited for this summer on the farm?
I look forward to spending some peaceful time just thinking. I get to ignore what's going on outside the fence of the farm, and just enjoy nature.

What is a fun or surprising fact about you?
I love drawing and thinking about how things are the way they are…it's all a mystery to me.

Avion
Age: 16
Grade: 11
School: Walter H. Dyett High School

What's your favorite vegetable?
Strawberries

What are you most interested in/excited for this summer on the farm?
Growing vegetables

What is a fun or surprising fact about you?
I am a very creative person. I like to learn new things, I get lazy when it's too hot, and I can play basketball and any sports well.

Cortez
Age: 16
Grade: 11
School: Ace Technical Charter Academy

What's your favorite vegetable?
Corn

What are you most interested in/excited for this summer on the farm?
Learning how to grow plants

What is a fun or surprising fact about you?
I am very athletic, I have a 4.0 GPA, and I am a very hard worker.

Anthony
Ninth season
Age: 17
Grade: 12
School: Morgan Park High School

What's your favorite vegetable?
Cucumber or sweet potato

What are you most interested in/excited for this summer at Urban Garden Lab?
I'm most excited for cooking on Thursday from produce received from Daley Plaza.

What is a fun or surprising fact about you?
I'm scared of frogs and I love red velvet and caramel cake. I played bowling, swimming, chess, and baseball.

Antonio Buie

Community Area: North Lawndale
Internship placement: Farm on Ogden Retail Store

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
To learn more about growing and production. I want to develop the steps and procedures for becoming an incubator farmer and have my own business.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
To have a farm with a hoop house and raised bed in my community.

LaQuantus Davis

Community Area: North Lawndale
Internship placement: Farm on Ogden Aquaponics

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
To learn the famer lifestyle, to be able to name plants onsite, recognize disease, pests, and the methods to contain remove them. I want to start an herbal business or a juice bar; to grow my own food and share it with others in my community.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
I want to be a part of and help out communities, CSAs, farmers’ markets, aquaponics construction, and overall, improve health through knowledge of growing various crops.

David Edwards

Community Area: Austin
Internship placement: Arturo Velasquez Institute

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
I applied to acquire the knowledge needed to grow organic food to sell in my version of a CSA.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
I hope to establish a small farm next to a storefront where I can close the gap on a food desert while educating my community on healthy options. I want to hire ex-felons and teenagers and teach them entrepreneurial skills that give you an in-depth look at the business from the farm to retail, all while growing people while growing food.

Vincent Irizarry

Community Area: Avondale
Internship placement: Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
I want to continue to learn and network, in order to become a true[r] advocate for the sustainable urban agriculture movement. I wish to expand my knowledge base to be able to share, teach, and possibly inspire.

Rachel Nami Kimura

Community Area: Avondale

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
I’ve done a lot of dabbling in various aspects of gardening and farming, but as someone who grew up in Chicago and has only lived in cities, I felt like my knowledge of and relationship with nature was more theoretical than practical. I wanted to change that. After several years of being on the fence, I decided it was time for me to take the plunge and pursue a career in urban agriculture.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
My hope is to one day start a farm in the Chicago area, where I can incorporate the practices of natural farming, agroforestry, and regenerative agriculture.

Anna Miller

Community Area: Humboldt Park
Internship placement: The Roof Crop

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
I applied to the program to learn more techniques for urban agriculture and local economics, and to grow relationships with like-minded folks.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
I hope to be a part of making food security, nutrition, healthy soil, aquaponics and/or rooftop and vertical garden more accessible for future generations.

LaShawn Miller

Community Area: Garfield Park
Internship placement: Closed Loop Farm

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
I applied to this program because I knew that the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program could help me attain my goals. I need a skilled set of leaders in the industry to teach me terminology, processes, and methodologies of the "food growing" industry. As a project manager in the live event industry, I am very skilled at putting pieces together to create a big picture. I would like to cross this skill set over to urban sustainability because this is a cause that is meaningful to me.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
I am interested in implementing and installing rooftop gardens to residential and commercial spaces to aid in urban sustainability. I want to own land to grow crops for consumption by the people who live in the neighborhoods for which the farms thrive; these people will help to cultivate the land and reap the benefits of their labor in many ways. I want to put my production skills to work in this arena by putting on a series of farm-to-table events to raise awareness of this “culture.”

Brandy O’Neal

Community Area: Bronzeville

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
Initially, I was led to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship program because I had a genuine curiosity to learn more about how to grow my own food. However, it quickly evolved to a desire to learn more about the food system and how to advocate for food sovereignty.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
My long-term vision is to merge my background as an elementary school teacher with my new training as a farm apprentice to develop a program to teach kids how to cook deliciously nutritious meals with whole foods planted and harvested in their own school gardens. Plus, I would advocate for ways food literacy can be embedded in school curricula. I also hope to partner with urban farms and food organizations dedicated to teaching communities of color how to grow their own food.

Diondray McClain

Community Area: Southside/Morgan Park
Internship placement: Closed Loop Farm

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
To learn how to grow food in an urban environment and also to gain knowledge about aquaponics.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
I hope to be able to teach youth and raise community awareness about sustainable agriculture. I would like to start a business beautifying cities with vacant lots and transforming them into farm sites/gardens.

Artema Plunkett

Internship placement: PCC Wellness Farm

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
To further my education in urban agriculture and aquaponics, and to find a job.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
Start growing my own food the proper way—organically!

Liza Provenzano

Community Area: Ravenswood
Internship placement: Just Roots

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
I applied to gain a better understanding of all the positive aspects that urban agriculture has to offer. The curriculum combined with the internship is the perfect overview to get started. It is exciting to be a part of such an amazing resource for Chicago.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
My goal is to always stay involved with Chicago farming and to help spread awareness of personal health, as well as responsibility for our environment.

Allison Sturm

Community Area: Rogers Park

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
I applied to further my education about urban agriculture. The act of sharing food can be very transformative, which is why I think it’s important to understand and make connections between our food (where it comes from and how it’s cultivated), the environment, our local communities, and how it all impacts our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
I hope to combine my love of the outdoors and growing/cooking food with my passion of working and learning with youth.

Bruce Watson

Community Area: Chatham
Internship placement: Washington Park Youth Farm

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
I realized this is an opportunity to learn proper farming methods and be a part of the growing demand for locally organically grown produce and the sensibility surrounding urban agriculture.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
While I hope to remain associated with Windy City Harvest in some capacity, I have yet to determine my future direction, as I see numerous choices I can pursue, but have not yet attained the required skills I shall need. I’m still interested in being qualified enough in urban farming to be able to pass on those skills I’ve acquired here at Windy City Harvest to all those interested in sustainable farming and gardening procedures, especially our youth.

Chelsea Williams

Community Area: Rodeo Farm
Internship placement: Washington Park Youth Farm

Why did you apply to the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program?
I applied to the Windy City Harvest program to gain the knowledge, skill and network needed for a full career change. I have always felt very connect to nature and loved being outside getting my hand dirty. I’m very interested in the gardening and landscaping aspect of urban agriculture, but the beauty of Windy City Harvest is that you’ll learn all aspect of sustainable agriculture, meaning you have plenty of time along the way to figure out what direction you want to head in after the program ends.

What do you hope to do with your Windy City Harvest education in the future?
After Windy City Harvest, I would love to have a career maintaining and creating new plots of flowers, trees, etc. around the city of Chicago and surrounding areas. I want to help make my city greener and beautiful in all neighborhoods.

Adam Evans

Community Area: Lawndale

What motivated you to apply to Windy City Harvest Corps?
I was initially unaware of the Corps program and had applied for the Apprenticeship.  When I learned of my eligibility for Corps, I decided it would be my best option because I would have the opportunity to extend my training over two seasons while getting certifications and a paycheck.

What motivated you to continue your education and apply for the Apprenticeship?
My initial interest was in the Apprenticeship.  I am interested in the program because I want to be a part of the change that is happening in the agriculture industry as a result of consumer awareness and organic farming.  I also feel that this will give me the foundation to work toward my goals regarding food justice and more equal distribution of quality products in our communities.

What are two to three things you hope to learn more about during the Apprenticeship?

• Crop planning
• Marketing
• Grant proposals

What is your goal for after the Apprenticeship?
I would like to test my skills through the incubator program to prove that I can make all the decisions and perform all the work necessary to operate a successful farm business.

Shanquell London

Community Area: University Village

What motivated you to apply to Windy City Harvest Corps?
Not only having a close friend succeed with Windy City Harvest, but also being out of work and wanting to try something new helped motivate me to apply to Corps.

What motivated you to continue your education and apply for the Apprenticeship?
After being in Corps for a few months, it gave me the motivation to want to learn more about sustainable agriculture.

What are two to three things you hope to learn more about during the Apprenticeship?
During the Apprenticeship, I hope to learn the basics of being a farmer and also how to start a profitable sustainable farm. I also want to learn the importance of all plants like what they like and don’t like and what it takes to grow them successfully.

What is your goal for after the Apprenticeship?
My goal for after the Apprenticeship is to take all that I’ve learned and use it to my best ability to not only make a living, but to spread the awareness of sustainable agriculture.

Sheena Richardson

Community Area: South Shore

What motivated you to apply to Windy City Harvest Corps?
The fact I was unemployed, needed a job and wanting to be a better person.

What motivated you to continue your education and apply for the Apprenticeship?
I enjoyed the learning experience I have gotten so far while working here and my mind always thirsts for more knowledge.

What are two to three things you hope to learn more about during the Apprenticeship?
I hope to learn more about different crops, how they do in different elements and what insects are best to have to keep my farm running without pesticides.  How to build my own raised beds on land, what dimensions should be used, where to get the materials and learn how to come up with crop plans.

What is your goal for after the Apprenticeship?
To bring the knowledge I learned into different fields of helping others learn the things I did for the community and for treatment centers.

Lawrence Riley

Community Area: Auburn-Gresham

What motivated you to apply to Windy City Harvest Corps?
The geek in me. I’ve always had a love for plants, flowers, and green living. I was very excited when I did my work shadow and knew it was the right choice for me and my family.

What motivated you to continue your education and apply for the Apprenticeship?
As stated, I love plants. I want to set an example for anyone that may be intimidated. I was nervous at first, but knew that I could do it because Windy City Harvest provides a great support system. I also want to be proactive in setting up farm stands in food deserts.

What are two to three things you hope to learn more about during the Apprenticeship?

• To learn how to set up a crop plan successfully
• Learn to build greenhouses and raised beds
• Understand how plants thrive based on location

What is yourgoal for after the Apprenticeship?
To become an incubator farmer. From there, I would like to set up/rejuvenate community gardens around the city. Ultimately, I would love the opportunity to extend Windy City Harvest to other areas of the United States.

Alonzo Zollicoffer

Community Area: North Lawndale

What motivated you to apply to Windy City Harvest Corps?
I heard about Windy City Harvest Crops from Kevin Campbell, who told my uncle at the VA about the program. He had asked my uncle if he knew anyone that needed a job, they should get in touch with Ms. Joan right away.

What motivated you to continue your education and apply for the Apprenticeship?
To learn more about what the program has to offer for me and learn more about plants and harvesting vegetables.

What are two to three things you hope to learn more about during the Apprenticeship?
How to take better care of plants and vegetables and how to run my own business someday on my own so that I can have something to show my son in the future.

What is your goal for after the Apprenticeship?
To find a better job for myself and also to learn how to be more responsible and take care of the things that I set for myself in the future and being responsible for myself and make a better life for me and my son.