Lives in 300 words: Stories from the Lab community

Each weekday, at around 3 p.m., the hallways fill with chatter as students pack up their belongings, excited it’s the end of the day. An hour later, Margarita Casas starts her day as a member of the evening custodial staff. From 4 p.m. to midnight, she works her way through Lab, ensuring students have a clean space where they can comfortably learn. While Ms. Casas appreciates the respect show...

Toss, reach, serve. The ball high in the air, Dash’s left arm outstretched behind his head, and then above, forward and through.  A crisp sound reverberates through the courts. The neon yellow sphere zooms through the air landing on the other side of the court with a pop.  Dash Smith, like any other tennis player, serves to start every game. His serves won him at least 9 games just this seaso...

Imagine a household over 2,000 years ago. In it resides a Roman aristocratic family, where heroism runs in the bloodline. Plastered to the side of the smooth, pillared house are plunders and swords of generations of soldiers and heroes. When one enters the house, they see a dresser, on which wax masks rest, immortalizing the faces of dead ancestors. In this lesson, history teacher Gabriel Baker wants his students...

Playing in the background is rhythmic classical music, tapping pointe shoes across the hardwood floors. Chani Patterson is in one of the lines of dancers moving to the music in unison. Creating a piece of art through years of lessons and technique.  When Chani was 3 years old, her mom wanted to put her in an extracurricular activity, something physical, and ballet seemed like the right choice....

Sadia Sindhu lives by the American rapper Eminem’s philosophy of “Success is my only option, failure’s not.” At the crack of dawn, with a steaming cup of espresso in hand, she wakes up to the only quiet time she has in her day. With no email traffic from the hustle and bustle of work, she savors her protected time. Whether it be for deep thought or a small work session, it's time just for her...

It’s unseasonably cold. Soccer drills are outside anyway. Girls dribble through cones and pass balls back and forth to each other. Coaches shout out directions to the players, they also yell to each other, mostly encouraging, some berating. Later they’ll divide into teams and play a practice game.  Seniors are playing through their last days of high school. Whether acknowledged or not, finality ...

Hana Javed knows how far preserving and dedication can take her. From the moment she raised her hand to be considered for the Children’s Chorus in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of “Carmen,” at 10 years old, she knew she had found her place in the performing arts. Hana describes her introduction to opera as magical. Although she had to learn selections from the most difficult children�...

She grips the leash firmly as she walks her dog, Cocoa. Leisurely, she strolls on the familiar sidewalks and through the grassy yards of Hyde Park. She is accompanied by a familiar sound of boisterous laughter from a group of cherished neighbors.  Quinn Smith is an integral member of a neighborhood dog-walking group. Forming this group has helped get rid of anxiety in her life. This habit that ...

Inside her perpetually changing apartment, full of vibrant paintings of waterlilies, mismatched antique dishware and a million distinct scents, Hariclia Hristea shuffles from task to task.  Not painting makes her antsy. How she went her whole life not painting is a mystery. She hadn’t even touched a paintbrush since her childhood in Romania, and even then, with those second-hand paints and can...