ALUMNI PROFILES
The best measure to understand Gads Hill Center's (GHC) impact on society is by its people, especially its vast number of alumni. From its beginnings in 1898 to the present, a common thread throughout GHC's history is the life-changing experience that it has afforded all those children and families who have passed through its doors.

Below are the personal stories of three of Gads Hill Center's alumni. With a collection of fond memories of friendships made and classes attended, these three stories demonstrate a common thread: Gads Hill Center’s social impact on the many children who have needed a safe and welcoming environment.  

Join us in celebrating the achievements of our alumni and in supporting many more children who need that safe and welcoming environment in which to grow and thrive.   

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"GHC was there at a crucial time of my life growing up in Pilsen in the 1970s and 1980s. It provided a safe environment to play sports and study. Without GHC existing at the time of my youth, my life may have taken a different direction."  - Jorge Cazares
JORGE CAZARES

I started attending GHC around 1968 when I was a first grader at St. Pius V Elementary School. St. Pius would use GHC for gym and other activities. We were introduced to the library and the wood shop.

During my grammar school days, I mainly used the gym and wood shop facilities. I remember making wood crafts similar to the free workshops Home Depot holds today for kids. We also played softball, kick baseball and football outside in the play lot. I believe they also had a jungle gym and a slide. Later in high school, I still continued to play pickup basketball games on Saturday mornings and used the library on weekends to study. I always thought the library was underutilized and thus was a hidden gem for me to find a quiet and peaceful place to study.

I have fond memories of the friendships made and solidified at GHC. But my greatest memory has to be making a bookcase in the wood shop. I recall being very pleased with the final product and very proudly gave it to my mother. After my mother passed (almost 40 years later), I found the bookcase on the headboard of her bed holding her favorite books.

GHC was there at a crucial time of my life growing up in Pilsen in the 1970s and 1980s. It provided a safe environment to play sports and study. Without GHC existing at the time of my youth, my life may have taken a different direction.
"It was a tough neighborhood back then, but this was a place where kids could go and feel safe and good about themselves."  - Beth Daly
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BETH DALY 
The wrought iron "1919" sign was still hanging on the red brick outside the entrance of Gads Hill Center when I visited last summer. It had been thirty years since I stepped foot through the familiar double doors. I was greeted by a young lady in the reception area and I told her I had grown up right across the street. My emotions got the best of me while I wandered through the building and memories flooded my mind. 

I knew every nook and cranny of that building as I ran through it from age five, when I attended preschool there, to age fourteen. I met one of my best friends and the maid of honor in my wedding, Debbie Korkus, while attending preschool at Gads Hill Center. My father taught the rocketry class and my mother taught cooking classes and worked in the day care for many years. My brothers and I took advantage of many of the wonderful opportunities that Gads Hill Center provided. The gym where we played countless hours of volleyball, floor hockey, basketball, and flipped on the trampoline was now renovated.

The library had become offices, but the old fireplace remained and the milestone pictures were still hanging on the walls. The photos painted a picture of what Gads Hill Center must have been like back in the heyday and it looked like it must have been a grand place.

Gads Hill Center was so many things for me and for all of the kids in the neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods. It was an outlet, a place where we could be kids, a place to learn about art, music, cooking, woodcraft, dance, photography and much more. It was a tough neighborhood back then, but this was a place where kids could go and feel safe and good about themselves. 

​I now have a family of my own in a rural town in New Jersey and I often wish that there were a Gads Hill Center here, and in many locations through the U.S., because it really had a positive impact on my life and so many others.
 "The teachers at Gads Hill Center taught you regular academics, but also things you need to know for life."  - Carol Janosek
CAROL JANOSEK
I was just about eight or nine years old when I started at Gads Hill Center. I grew up on Cullerton Street. We had a club and we also had music classes, which I remember most.

All of my memories of Gads Hill Center are just wonderful. We participated in Friday dances for teenagers. We were able to come for two hours or so – it was so nice. It was something for us to look forward to all the time. I still remember my teachers' names, Ms. Jones and Mr. Newman, and Mrs. Erickson, and they were absolutely wonderful teachers.

Gads Hill Center for me was always a place to go, and I always had people to be with. The teachers at Gads Hill Center taught you regular academics, but also things you need to know for life. It was always a wonderful place to be. We would go almost every single night and play checkers upstairs, and I won't forget playing ping pong with all of my friends there. All of my memories of Gads Hill are just wonderful.

Until recently, Carol and others had their seniors club meetings at the Cullerton St. site. For Carol, Gads Hill Center truly has been a place to go throughout her entire life. Carol still lives in Pilsen, not far from Gads Hill Center.