Student Spotlight: Sean Mayfield

8th grader Sean Mayfield came into our program 2 years ago straight from Cabrini Green Tutoring Program with his tutor, Alan (AJ) Tyson in tow. In fact, it was Alan who first told Sean about our program here at Cabrini Connections and originally encouraged him to continue on past 6th grade. We’re glad they did because Sean has become one of the most active and engaged students here at Cabrini Connections. He constantly goes above and beyond, seeking out ways to get involved and taking leadership positions, despite only being in 8th grade. For instance, he is the youngest student on our Youth Leadership Council, which he was voted onto by his peers and their mentors. He also came into our center each week over the past summer to be the beta tester for Steve and Alice’s Tech Club, which meets on Tuesday nights and has grown exponentially since the summer. Through his involvement in Tech Club, he has acquired the skills to design his own website, which is now up and running with personal content.

Sean and his mentor AJ have come to be quite close over the past 4 years. One thing they both share is a love for reading, which they often do together. For instance, right now they are reading a collection of science fiction short stories entitled “The Martian Odyssey.” In fact, most days after school when Sean isn’t here at Cabrini Connections working on homework or with tech club, you can find him at the Borders near North and Clybourn, soaking in as many books as he can. Besides sci-fi, he has a particular affinity for Manga, or Japanese comics, for the uninitiated.

Despite his literary passions, Sean’s favorite subject is Math, which he has been exposed to a great deal since he attends Newberry Math and Science Academy. He’ll soon be changing schools however as he enters high school next year. Remarkably, Sean was admitted to all 6 of the high schools to which he applied, including Noble Street Charter, UIC College Prep and Rauner College Prep. He has decided to attend Rauner where he will work hard towards accomplishing his dream of becoming a video game designer.

Although he does play a lot of video games, Sean has another factor motivating him to become a video game designer…his 29 year old brother, who is currently in the Air Force, has worked as a video game designer, designing games for game boy, PC and Playstation 2, including the new Street Fighter game.

In addition to being featured in the student spotlight, to reward him for all his hard work, Sean will be attending a free dinner at Charlie Trotter’s next Tuesday, where he will eat dinner with other youth leaders in our program and learn about careers in culinary arts. Congratulations Sean and bon appetit!