Suburban Mosaic: Huntley teen helps supply laptops to students in need globally

Huntley High School sophomore Ariana Patel was inspired to help students without access to computers across the globe when her grandfather shared the challenges of starting a charitable school in his hometown in India.

“(It) opened my eyes to the disparities (in education) not only around the world, but also in our own communities, as well,” Patel said. “Every student in the United States and around the world should be able to have access to educational technology.”

Patel worked with Huntley Community School District 158 and local nonprofit Giving Gadgets to donate about 600 lightly used laptops to schools and students in need in Mexico and India.

Patel's cousin Jaiden Sutaria, a senior at St. Charles East High School, is a founding member of Giving Gadgets. The organization's mission is to ensure every child has access to usable technology at school.

With the help of District 158's technology department, Patel collected nearly 1,500 Chromebook laptops and donated about 600 of those devices to schools in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Ahmedabad, India. The devices were earmarked for recycling and were data-wiped by the district staff before being donated.

Giving Gadgets estimates the donated devices will give more than 15,000 students the opportunity to further their education with technology over the next five years.

Patel aims to help Giving Gadgets partner with more schools and organizations willing to donate their computers to schools lacking technological resources.

To learn more about Giving Gadgets or to become a sponsor, visit GivingGadgets.org.

Developing youth leaders

Kristina Garcia, dean of the communications and behavioral sciences division at Elgin Community College, will serve as an inaugural Aspen Index Impact Fellow.

The Aspen Institute fellowship brings together more than 90 community stakeholders to advance the future of youth leadership development. Fellows include college presidents, senior leaders, educators and youth from across the nation.

“She is one of our newest deans at the college and brings a fresh new voice and equity-focused lens to the college that will help carry ECC, and our students, to the next level,” said Peggy Heinrich, ECC's vice president of teaching, learning, and student development.

Impact Fellows will help develop, optimize, and beta-test the Aspen Index and co-create the supporting learning architecture to ensure its success. The Aspen Institute is working with Impact Fellows to create greater access to and quality of youth leadership programs.

Bowling for special needs

The Rick Kahen Commission for Residents with Disabilities and the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove will host a Bowling with Buddies event for residents with special needs from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Bowlero, 350 McHenry Road, Buffalo Grove.

The bowling alley will be closed to the public during the event. Bowling and dinner are free to the participants. Rotary Club volunteers will help participants as needed. The event is Halloween-themed, and participants are encouraged to wear costumes.

“This event is truly one of a kind,” Rick Kahen Commissioner Mark Weiner said. “I'm not sure who gets more out of it. There are many return participants who ask to be paired with a 'buddy' they bowled with previously.”

This is the fourth Bowling with Buddies event, which has grown from 34 participants in 2018 to 89 registered participants this year.

Serving Hispanic students

Elmhurst University has been awarded a $3.4 million federal grant to help support Hispanic and underserved students and the establishment of a Center for Excellence and Achievement on campus.

“I am so excited for the opportunities this grant will create, not only for our Latino and Latina students, but for our entire campus community,” Elmhurst University President Troy VanAken said.

The university will use the Title V grant to increase its efforts in the areas of student success and equity. Project goals include creating the new Center for Excellence and Achievement/Centro para la Excelencia y el Logro. It will be a “one-stop shop” for students and their families, providing academic support and social services to remove barriers to pursuing an education.

Other goals include helping ease students' transition to college, hiring additional staff to engage with community-based organizations and other external resources, establishing an endowed fund to help students participate in internships, study away programs, research projects and service learning, and providing faculty development on culturally responsive teaching practices.

Elmhurst University was designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution last year by the U.S. Department of Education. More than a quarter of Elmhurst's more than 2,800 full-time undergraduate students have identified as Hispanic and Latino or Latina.

Justice talk

Just the Beginning - A Pipeline Organization and Roosevelt University are partnering to host a conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday in Chicago.

Sotomayor, a Bronx, New York, native born to Puerto Rican parents, is the third woman, first woman of color, first Hispanic and first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court. She will discuss empowerment through education and civic engagement at 6 p.m. in the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B Wells Drive.

The talk will be moderated by retired judge Ann Claire Williams who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Sotomayor will discuss her life and career and the importance of law and civic engagement as part of Just the Beginning's 12th national conference.

The event is open to the public, but space is limited. Tickets are available at auditoriumtheatre.org or in person at the box office. Masks will be required.

Diwali festivals

Suburban Hindu temples and communities will mark Diwali with celebrations in the coming weeks.

The South Asian “Festival of Lights” falls on Oct. 24 this year. Millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains globally celebrate Diwali, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil. Festivities are marked with such rituals as putting up lights, setting off fireworks and enjoying sweets and family gatherings. Here are a couple of upcoming suburban events:

Festivities begin at 6 p.m. Saturday and run through 8:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Vadtal Dham Shri Swaminarayan Temple, 397 Northgate Parkway, Wheeling. For details, visit shriji.org.

Kids' Diwali celebration, 3 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday for children younger than 16 at the Shree Swaminarayan Temple, 21W710 Irving Park Road, Itasca. The event will include interactive stations to learn about the five days of the Diwali festival, special pujas (acts of worship), rangoli (traditional Indian art form using colored sand or powder), arts and crafts, music and dance performances, traditional Garba dance, and mediation and mindfulness sessions. For more, visit issochicago.org.

Share stories, news and happenings from the suburban mosaic at mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com.