Richards honors 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 Richards High School.

Bleu Strong, Class of 2012
After participating in the U.S. Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program at Richards, Bleu earned an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.

After graduating from Annapolis, he finished first in hiss class at Navy Flight School.
Currently he serves as a Naval aviator flying US Navy E-2D Hawkeyes.

Amber Atkinson, Class of 2008
Amber works as a registered nurse "for the cognitively and developmentally impaired." She's also a newborn care specialist "known for sleep training babies in three nights flat!"

Dr. Stephanie Eugene, Class of 1997
Stephanie graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001 and then completed medical school in 2005. Today she works as a physician at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago.

She shared many details about her work:

I enjoy my job because everyday I have an opportunity to work with a team of really talented people who have one common goal. We want to help people who because of unfortunate circumstances have become ill or injured. These patients usually have no where else to go because they are either too sick to see a doctor in the clinic, don’t have a doctor to see in the clinic, or they are unable to see a doctor in the clinic in a reasonable time frame.

Sometimes I am able to help and maybe even save someone’s life. Other times, I am able to give them the resources they need to address their issues. I love that I am able to educate my patients about their health which can end up making a big difference in their well being. I love the variety of patient’s I am able to treat in the Emergency Department. In one day, I can treat a broken bone, pregnancy complication, drug overdose, stroke, and a kid who fell and needed stitches. I like working in a team including teaching students who are just starting their careers and need to learn as much as possible.

My job requires me to make a lot of decisions, sometimes with very limited information at hand, and in a timely manner. There are a lot of interruptions and distractions in the ER so it is important to be in a healthy state of mind to be able to multi-task, focus, and concentrate on the task at hand.

My job shows me the importance of keeping our bodies and minds healthy and it reminds me how blessed that I am to be in good health. I try not to take it for granted by doing my part to stay healthy. It took me many years to become a doctor because I had a lot too learn and I still do because I have to stay current with the trends in medicine. I continue to enjoy learning new things throughout my career. There is always something new to learn. This challenges me and helps me to grow as a physician.

My advise to anyone who wants to be a physician or health care provider is to work hard, sacrifice because it will be worth it, and learn as much as possible from your teachers, counselors, and advisors. Try to get early exposure by volunteering and speaking to people in the field so you have a realistic understanding of what the job is like.

There are a lot of opportunities, programs, and organizations to help students figure it out and get some experience and guidance. Do not get discouraged when other people don’t believe in you or take you seriously. Just believe in yourself if you know you are giving 100% effort. Last but not least, stay balanced, have fun, enjoy hobbies, and always have a healthy outlet to cope with stress.

Bri Allen, Class of 2013
Bri graduated as the Jack North Scholar and commencement speaker for the College of Business from Illinois State University in 2017. She earned degrees in finance and risk management and insurance.

She currently works in downtown Chicago as a Broker at Willis Towers Watson. She also serves on many Inclusion and Diversity initiatives, specifically working to increase the number of employees of color at the organization and in senior positions.