- This and more coming up on the Whitney Reynolds show, when you were growing up in the South Loop elementary area going to school, when you found out where the new field is going to be, what was that like for you?

- That was kind of another full circle moment that it's right next to where I guess, like you said, the dreams at the table were happening.

- What is your favorite game day ritual?

- I get on the phone with my mom and we pray.

- Oh my gosh, that's a good one.

When did you know you had a star on your hands?

- Wow.

I would probably say when he was maybe eight years old.

Ooh.

I was not the mom that went to every soccer game in the beginning because I was like, you're nuts, I'm not doing that.

And then I went to a game and I saw him play and at the time he was a striker and I was like, whoa, this kid is amazing.

And so I think it was in that moment that I knew that we had to nurture his dream because of course he would say, oh, you know, I wanna be a professional player.

And I'm like, yeah, okay, sure, whatever.

But in my mind I'm like, sure, as long as you go to school, - My grandfather and I had such a strong bond.

I was just a curious, annoying, asking grandson.

And he was such a, a fond of telling our story and building my ego.

I don't know if he knew that he was gonna help us.

Keep in mind he had never been to school, he would tell me We are a people of great wisdom.

Whether that's true or not, it didn't matter.

It just gave me this huge self-esteem.

So I told him, Hey, I think I'm in qualified at the university.

- I moved to the United States in 1992 with my parents and my parents' dream was for me to have access to things that I probably wouldn't have access at home.

Their goal was for me to have access to an education, to have access to things that were important to me and that I was passionate about.

If I wouldn't have left home and I wouldn't have never got the opportunity to be in a space like this.

- The Whitney Reynolds show is supported by 10 West Real Estate Group, a real estate investment partner specializing in multi-family apartment investing and long-term wealth growth.

Kevin O'Connor Law Firm, when it comes to your injuries, we take it personally.

Respiratory Health Association, healthy lungs, and clean air for all.

Together at Peace Foundation.

Together at Peace creates hopeful spaces for grief and remembrance.

Through Comfort Club founder Christine Marlo shares her personal grief Journey and Faith, which has led to Healing Hearts faith-based program supporting healing in communities.

Joe perillo.com where you can browse a selection of pre-owned vehicles.

Joe Perillo is based in Chicago and ships all over the country, children's learning Place, a school for our earliest learners dedicated to aiding every child with the power of learning center for beautiful living, empowering people to live rich, robust, and beautiful lives.

Additional funding provided by the Intrigue Yellow Chicago Lifestyle Foundation and Creative Lab FE O High five Sports Club Chicago Girl, strong Empowerment apparel, and XOMD.

- Hello and welcome to the Whitney Reynolds - Show.

We are so glad you have found us today.

We are talking homegrown about growing from our roots and finding purpose where we're at.

Awakening the soul of our stories.

Come for the stories, save for the heart, wear every journey might recognize a new look.

We are ready to take things to the next level.

You'll see Whitney's - Here to share your dream.

It's the show you are watching.

Your Whitney Reynolds show.

- Home lives every episode.

This is the show Mauricio Pine Squares - In a across and it's Justin Reynolds and the fire of Retake the Lead.

When you put on your jersey, who are you doing it for?

- Actually, this is a story that I guess a lot of people know, but my brother played before me and he was also number 36.

And so that's a big motivation of mine to kind of take his number to where it hasn't been yet.

So you know, the highest level possible.

And then of course my family, just the rest of my family, I do it all of them.

- And when we say the highest level possible, when you were a little kid potentially at a desk like this, did you dream of this day?

- Yeah, for sure.

It was like, you know, the books were fun, but my mom was always on soccer.

- And when you were dreaming of this, did little Justin think he could do it?

- I think internally he was nervous, but you know, like I said, my support system was amazing and they always gave me the confidence to believe in myself and know that I can achieve anything I set my mind to.

- And you are doing just that.

How special is it for you to know that you are making your city proud?

- It?

Yeah, it means that like the world to me.

- Okay.

So first question, what is your favorite game day ritual?

- I get on the phone with my mom and we pray.

- Oh my gosh, that's a good one.

When did you know you had a star on your hands?

- Wow.

I would probably say when he was maybe eight years old.

Ooh.

I was not the mom that went to every soccer game in the beginning because I was like, you're nuts, I'm not doing that.

And then I went to a game and I saw him play and at the time he was a striker and I was like, whoa, this kid is amazing.

And so I think it was in that moment that I knew that we had to nurture his dream because of, he would say, oh, you know, I wanna be a professional player.

And I'm like, yeah, okay, sure, whatever.

But in my mind I'm like, sure, as long as you go to school.

- Yeah.

- But then when I saw him play in that one game, I was like, oh wow, like this could be a possibility for him.

- Coach that's impacted you the most.

- I had a coach growing up named Charlie Trout and he was basically the one that taught me the foundation for my game.

So I would say him - Seeing him on the field now and knowing that he is now a professional soccer player in his hometown, what is this like for you?

- So I am a Chicagoan through and through.

I was born and raised here, right here in this neighborhood.

And for me it's to see him live out his dream is like one of the most amazing experiences that I have.

And like every time I see him on the field is like me seeing him on the field for the first time because he was so passionate about it and he knew exactly what he wanted.

And for him to be able to realize that dream was just like the most amazing experience as a mom.

- Let's talk about Inglewood.

Yeah.

Because sometimes on the news it doesn't always make the best stories, but you are here at the helm of a school in this neighborhood.

Tell us about the Inglewood.

You know, - So it has definitely changed a lot since I, from the time when I was a child, we did not grow up, you know, with a lot of money.

But you know, my parents were definitely the parents who made sure that we had everything that we needed and worked very hard to support us, whatever we wanted our journeys to be in life.

And as far as like from an educational perspective, you know, I did experience some educational inequities, which is why I actually decided to become an educator.

I was, I thought about the future and what that meant growing up in this neighborhood.

And so I just wanted to give back and make sure that the future had an opportunity to realize their dreams of being whatever it is that they want it to be.

But I will say there is sometimes, not always positive things said, but there's a lot of good and great things going on in this community - Plays, which stands for participate, learn, achieve Youth Soccer, presented by Meridian actually uses a social and emotional and academic curriculum with soccer to help prove the life chances and academic outcomes of some of Chicago's most under-resourced communities.

We are in 70 Chicago public schools.

We started in eight, - Serving - Third through fifth grade, boys and girls.

So it's co-ed, everyone gets to play together.

- Gotta remember our girls in there too, - Right?

Absolutely.

And it's been so impactful and positive and we really, we provide a 10 week out of school time program, five hours a week every spring.

And we provide equipment, uniform bus, transportation.

We take these kids outta their neighborhoods.

Many of them have never left where they live.

And we bust them to play other schools at Intentional Sports.

And then to top it off, we get to take 'em on a field trip to a fire match at Soldier Field.

- I love the plays program.

For me, I think that giving my students an opportunity to express themselves in a way that they might not get to express themselves is huge.

And also the fact that they learn so many skills.

Like they learn how to be a team player, they learn how to communicate, they learn what it means to like fail sometimes and not win all the time.

And I think those are some of the hard lessons that if they can learn how to deal with adversity on the field and through the plays program, I think it's, it'll benefit them later on in life.

When I first brought the program here, nobody wanted to play soccer.

They were like, oh no, no thank you.

And I was like, no, you know what?

Come on, let's just give it a try.

They're like, my - Son is a pro.

- Yeah.

Or they were all just like, no, I wanna play basketball.

Oh.

And nobody really wanted to play soccer, but for me it was more about introducing them to soccer, was more about teaching them how to deal with conflict.

And so gaining those important social emotional skills.

But then once they had an opportunity to really learn the game and actually experience a real game, because that's one of the culminating activities, they were like, oh wow.

And so now whenever we introduce it, we get so many players that we're like, okay, well we only have - It caught fire.

So it caught fire.

- Not pun, no pun intended.

Absolutely.

Or maybe a little pun.

- We have more than 360,000 hours of soccer have been played by 1500 youth across Chicago.

- That is incredible.

- Again, you know, we started 13 years ago and having now kids that have graduated high school and have come back to say that this program impacted them, we've seen decline in behavior infractions and unexcused absences.

We've seen that 95% of these youth believe in themselves more from the program.

And 92% that know that ke teachers and coaches support them - To know that your team is investing in your city.

What is a moment like that?

- That's, that's amazing.

'cause obviously our owner's great and to see Yeah, just how he interacts with the city and gets people involved and makes people wanna come out and support is, is amazing.

- When you were growing up in the South Loop elementary area going to school, when you found out where the new field is going to be, what was that like for you?

- That was kind of another full circle moment that it's right next to where, I guess, like you said, the dreams at the table were happening.

- Yeah.

And for this new facility, what are you looking most forward to?

- I think I'm looking most forward to how much of a, like a home feel.

It has like a home vibe.

- Mm.

- I think it's gonna be like, obviously it's gonna be more compact, so we'll be able to hear the fans more and we'll be able to interact with them more.

And then just the fact that it's in the heart of the city too.

- Oh yeah.

- So like a combination of both.

Those would be, - Yeah.

You can salute your old elementary school.

The moment you found out you were going pro - Feeling, it felt amazing.

I was, I was on a bus I believe, and then they kind of called me and were like, we're gonna be looking to give you a contract.

And that was an amazing feeling - For the fan at home.

For the little boy or little girl that's watching that might feel like their circumstance has not allowed them to dream like this, what would you say to them?

- I would just say to always believe in yourself.

I think there's never any challenge that's too great to overcome.

So never give up and just always just work hard.

- That is truly amazing.

Justin Reynolds.

And we actually have a surprise for our audience.

Let's welcome Sparky.

Welcome to the dock here.

- Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me.

- Oh, I am so proud of everything you have accomplished to get here today.

His story starts a world away with almost nothing but determination.

I, - I was born and raised in the, you know, when you watch the National Geographic, the wretched who were third world Uganda, even though I was born in Uganda, even though my father was born in Uganda, we had the stigma of being called refugees.

- Mm.

- Because of tribalism and political, you know, discourse.

The only refugee was my grandfather because he had been shafted out of his own country in 1958, which was the first genocide that they didn't report.

'cause there was no cable news.

So I'm Ugandan, but now American citizen.

But life was not easy.

We were people who took care of other people's cows, not even our own cows.

But through all that, I build the strength to not wanna be called a refugee, not wanna be called the little belittled tootsie tribe.

Not the weak or the, the dim weighted.

I, I didn't want to be like my grandfather, my father, but I took the good things from my grandfather and then added on the good things that I, I figured out how to do.

- He didn't want the life he inherited, he wanted the life he could grow - My and my career.

And the reason I'm doing this interview, I, I have a thing called cycle breakers because my father used to work for other people's cows.

And we are a, a tribe of huntsmen.

So our job, we know nothing but cattle.

But while we were doing that and I was able to go to school when I was doing my high school, I was good at science subjects.

My grandfather and I had such a strong bond.

I was just a curious, annoying, asking grandson.

And he was such a, a fond of telling our story and building my ego.

I don't know if he knew that it was gonna help.

'cause keep in mind, he had never been to school.

He would tell me, we are a people of great wisdom.

Whether that's true or not, it didn't matter.

He just gave me this huge self-esteem.

So I told him, Hey, I think I'm a qualified, go the university.

I'm gonna do some science career.

He said, like, what?

They said, well, I have options.

Medicine, engineering, pharmacy, bio, something.

He said, what, what does that even mean?

Is there anything that connects to cows, our tribe that actually you can apply all that science that could make us connect again?

They said, grandpa, that's called veterinary medicine.

He said, that's it, that's what you should, you should do.

A hundred percent.

That's the reason I became a veterinarian.

- A childhood with animals became the foundation of a future.

How did you dream that this could actually happen though, based on your limitations in that moment?

- Right.

Well, I, I knew I had the grace to get to the, to to become a, to get a, a career scholarship.

A government scholarship, which I need people to know.

I was not a smart as my children are now.

I just knew that I had to work twice as hard to get on that government scholarship.

- When you got to Kentucky, you worked your way up and when did you decide that you were going to stay and become part of the United States?

- So my first reason was to just do internship and learn and how to do things and maybe get connections and get equipment and get support and all that stuff and go back and do better in the medicine.

But when I got here, I realized that the family was getting bigger, so I decided to apply for a green card.

- When he made the choice to chase his dream, it wasn't glamorous, but he had the grit.

He applied for his green card with nothing guaranteed, but still had that vision.

He packed his bags, moved states, and started over from scratch.

Most days he hustled selling newspapers, cleaning houses, and taking on extra jobs to keep the dream alive.

Every step on that unfamiliar path, he was actually planting something so much bigger.

When you went to apply to become an American citizen, - Yeah.

- What was that moment like for you?

- It was because if they had said no, then I was like, Japan, Australia, what if they send, or two, I had backup plan that I was gonna make connections and see if we could collaborate and they would send me instruments or medicine or something and then I would use that to practice in medicine.

When I applied, it was, it was scary, but somehow with God's blessing, I was able to be allowed to be a citizen.

- What do people need to know about the immigrant story that maybe we're missing?

- You work like you don't have an option.

The immigrant story and the people who are not immigrants, what I can tell them is what I tell my children.

If you do not have any backup, if even if you do work, as if your life depends on it, do not be picky on the job.

If they ask you to pick the rocks for seven days a week, pick the rocks, then the next time, next week or month, you might be able to pack clothes in a clothing store, which is not as hard as rocks.

The next time you may actually be able to drive an Uber.

If you get a car from picking the rocks, don't be picky.

And they, if you do that with that mindset, you'll be successful.

- And now to a nonprofit who's dedicated to every zip code in their home market, let's take a look.

The story of Marvin begins long before its students arrive with someone who once needed a chance herself.

- I moved to the United States in 1992 with my parents, and I've lived in Chicago since then.

Coming - From Mexico to the United States, do you feel like you're living the American dream?

- My parents dream was for me to have access to things that I probably wouldn't have access at home.

Their goal was for me to have access to an education, to have access to things that were important to me and that I was passionate about.

If I wouldn't have left home, that I wouldn't have never got the opportunity to be in a space like this.

We've been around for 36 years to give access to students from under-resourced communities and allow them to access free art classes, right?

And so having access to different resources and different materials that you typically wouldn't have access.

So we're a very visual arts driven nonprofit and a lot of the studio spaces and everything you see is all for the young people that are gonna be taking classes - Among those young people is Corona.

- I started at Marvin when I was about, I wanna say 10 years old.

I tried to do every single class, every single term.

So I had at least three classes per term.

And I would beg Barbara or whoever was in front desk to be like, please, one more class.

I just wanna be here.

- And similar to many of the stories at Marvin, she also began to see a path forward.

- I think there's a lot of personal stories embedded in the artwork that young people make and that could look very different.

Ultimately what we want is them to feel like they can share a piece of themselves and be an authentic version of the artists that they wanna become.

- And were you able to do that?

- Absolutely.

- I went to a military academy, so it was like identity was stripped away a lot of times.

And there was no real form of community.

It was more a sense of like, like structure and discipline.

Right?

And that was like the main source of like everything, like education to the side.

We have to do this first.

And here, when I would come here I would understand like, hey, art can be a profession.

Art could take you places.

You could go to college for art.

- Speaking of creating, I heard this amazing story when I was first learning about Marvin.

It was someone who created this piece and it was going for sell at, at a major event and someone bought it and the girl really was like, wait, a random person bought my art.

And it changed her life.

She was like, I am going to keep doing this.

- It's a huge opportunity because I think that's the realization that they can have a career in art and make a living off their own art.

And that's the, that's sort of the empowerment that we wanna give young people, is to experience that firsthand ability to be able to create something and share it with someone and someone also wanting that piece of artwork.

So it's now a step even further from just seeing it on the wall, but also being able to like, Hey, I wanna sell it to someone.

- One chance opened a door for her, now she opens doors for others.

And because of that, students find their way forward and can grow right here at home.

- This is the first place that I guess I realized that I could build a community or there is communities where people will accept you.

- Homegrown stories remind us that growth can start ride at home, keep sharing yours.

And remember, your story matters.

The inspiration keeps coming all season.

Here's what's coming up.

- The last time I toured the Vatican, I met a, a padre there, a priest.

The most extraordinary thing he did was take us behind the Sistine Chapel.

There's a little room back there, I didn't know this.

And he said, it's called The Room of Tears.

And inside that room is a small papal vest.

And whenever the guy is elected, the new guy is elected, he gets up, walks into that room, and they say, at that moment is when they always - Cry.

Amazing.

- And I, I've been grateful to him ever since.

It was an extraordinary thing.

And he said to me one day, he said, you know, I've got this fellow Pierre, this French guy, blah, blah, blah, who's doing a, a musical about St.

Bernadette.

The young woman who plays St.

Bernadette is remarkable.

And I just thought, this is a performance that people should see.

- I am a United States Navy Lieutenant Commander, but I think what makes my story more unique is what I've been able to balance on the side.

Yes.

So simultaneously, I've competed in Miss USA state competitions five times.

- My entire career path has been about rolling the dice and taking risks on me.

The main thing you have to do, I believe, is believe in yourself.

Life actually is about you editing yourself.

You creating your own signature style.

But you have to believe that it's in there.

You've gotta go digging for it.

And of course it doesn't just mean that it pops out of nowhere.

Hard work is a, is a, is a part of it.

Right.

You know, knowledge is power.

I created a podcast that I did for several years, 135 episodes.

Yeah.

The wealth of information you get from people doing that taught me a lot about it.

So then I felt secure in myself to dig into a new business.

- The Whitney Reynolds Show is supported by 10 West Real Estate Group, a real estate investment partner specializing in multifamily apartment investing and long-term wealth growth.

Kevin O'Connor Law Firm, when it comes to your injuries, we take it personally.

Respiratory Health Association, healthy lungs, and clean air for all.

Together at Peace Foundation.

Together at Peace creates hopeful spaces for grief and remembrance.

Through Comfort Club founder Christine Marlo shares her personal grief Journey and Faith, which has led to healing hearts, faith-based programs, supporting healing in communities.

Joe perillo.com where you can browse a selection of pre-owned vehicles.

Joe Perillo is based in Chicago and ships all over the country.

Children's Learning Place, A school for our earliest learners dedicated to aiding every child with the power of learning center for beautiful living, empowering people to live rich, robust, and beautiful lives.

Additional funding provided by the Intrigue Yellow Chicago Lifestyle Foundation in Creative Lab.

BMO High Five Sports Club Chicago Girl, strong Empowerment Apparel, and XOMD.

- Want to stay connected to all things.

Whitney Reynolds will follow us on social media and you'll get exclusive content and updates from the show.

All episodes are available for streaming anytime.

Hi, mommy.