City Colleges of Chicago recently released their annual update for achievements in 2022 called Forging Forward, which includes success stories from students as well as various initiatives from last year.

“The journey to success starts before a student steps foot in a classroom,” Dr. Stephanie Krah, vice chancellor for Student Experience, said in the Forging Forward update. “We need to understand our students’ realities so we can offer the support they need to succeed. That’s why we provide food pantries, options for childcare, and so many other critical resources at our colleges.”

The report emphasized the assistance the students received as they advanced in their academic careers as well as their professional goals. Approximately a quarter of students received a Chancellor’s Retention Grant in the fall. Many students also benefited from the Healthy Market food pantries that are at City Colleges, allowing one out of six students to bring home fresh food.

The update also includes a number of Chicago residents who were positively affected by the initiatives of City Colleges of Chicago, such as a student who completed Olive-Harvey College’s Commercial Driver’s License program free of charge thanks to the Future Ready Initiative. Another was a software engineer for Microsoft who was in Wright College’s Engineering Pathways program, allowing her to transfer to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

City Colleges has a mission to be recognized as “Chicago’s most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equality,” the report said.