Celebrating Shepard graduates for Black History Month

To celebrate Black History Month, District 218 will graduates from Eisenhower, Richards, and Shepard high schools who have achieved noteworthy success academically, professionally, artistically, in public service, or in some other field of endeavor.

This story, one of several this month, features graduates from Shepard High School.

Taylor Rysdon, Class of 2011
Taylor works as an Internal Communications Manager at JLL Technologies, a corporate real estate technology company.

Edward Lee, Class of 1998
A logistics manager and realtor, he lives in Atlanta with his wife and three children. "I am still an avid Chicago sports fan. When I am not with my family or enjoying sports, I am doing as much as I can to give back to the community. I am on the board of two local non profits.

"One being South Fulton Parents For Education , where we focus on making sure there is equity for all the children in our learning community. The other is The Westlake Marching Lions Band Booster , where we work to make sure our local band students have all the necessities to be successful in their musical endeavors. When I am not doing these things, I just enjoy listening to podcasts or reading books as I am always focused on continued learning!

"I enjoy the ability to be analytical and strategic when solving problems for other businesses or people; no matter which job it is. I also enjoy working with others through mentorship and development in the workforce. Finally, I enjoy being on the board of our company’s African American Employee Resource Group where we focus on advancement and equity for our African American employees," he said.

Dion McGill, Class of 1997

Dion earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences from St. Xavier University, where he was the Outstanding History Department Scholar for the 2010 graduating class. A licensed Illinois state educator with experience teaching at both the middle and high school levels, Dion also served his nation in the U.S. Army.

Today he works as the Manager of Communications and Community Outreach for Strengthening Chicago's Youth (SCY), Chicago's largest violence prevention collaborative convened by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

https://scy-chicago.org/team/d...

He develops and implements communication and outreach strategy for the organization. Prior to joining SCY, Dion worked with the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence where he managed and facilitated the ICHV's education initiatives and programs.

"What I enjoy most about my current job is that I get to work daily to help fellow activists in Chicago to find and enact solutions to the problems around violence we have in our city. I never imagined I would work in public health someday, or work for a children's hospital, but one lesson I have learned over the years is not to be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone.

Most of my professional career has been making fast decisions with no real certainty of how the situation would play itself out, but that is very much how life often presents itself. I've found myself living in Germany, part of the US Army in Afghanistan, teaching in rural Alaska, and now back in Chicago as a communications professional although I have no formal background in communications.

"I also create a bi-weekly podcast and have done consulting work in both podcast content creation, as well as community engagement and outreach. Don't be afraid to take chances, be uncomfortable, and chase your dreams.

"One of my dreams is to start a nonprofit that would allow youth from communities most impacted by violence to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu free of charge. I've trained BJJ for the last 11 years and would love to pass on the benefits to the youth of Chicago, so I'm still on the chase as well," he said.

Joshua Olatunde, Class of 1997

Born and raised on the south side, Joshua describes failing to perform well in school at first "using his environment as an excuse."

At age seven, he nearly lost his life to violence; forcing his mother to seek mentorship from a local wrestling club. Under stewardship of the Harvey Twisters Wrestling Team, a group that fosters Olympic athletes, Joshua learned valuable leadership qualities including discipline, dedication, honesty, perseverance, study habits and humility.

As a student at Alan B. Shepard High School, he discovered his passion for merging education with the arts to create memorable learning experiences for himself and his peers.

He graduated in 1997 with multiple athletic scholarships, and chose to move to New York City to pursue his undergraduate degree. At Hunter College, Joshua's career-interest shifted to teaching.

He majored in Physics and English while working as a K-5 Tutor & Program Coordinator to "At-risk" kids in the South Bronx and Harlem. Several of his students found life-long success under his guidance including music sensations Chris Brown and Cardi-B.

In addition to this work, Joshua interned on Wall Street with JP Morgan-Chase and Lehman Brothers. He finished undergrad and did his post- graduate work at Harvard University, where he served as a Student-Teacher in Namibia (SW Africa).

Joshua spearheaded two case studies and integrated S.T.E.M. programs into Mwshependika High School. In Africa, he learned many valuable lessons – including the importance of grit, valuing time and taking advantage of opportunities. These lessons propelled him into his work today, where he serves as CEO and Board Chairman of a multi-media company.

His hope for all students, especially those of Alan B. Shepard High School is to 'find what drives you, develop a vision for what you'd like to accomplish, and work hard at it daily. All successes are mirrored by the effort and sacrifice put into them - so begin discovering your passions. Work hard. Find mentors. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Have fun. And live your best life!'