Taft Law Firm hires two current SFDS students for a summer internship

Taft Law Firm hires two current SFDS students for a summer internship

1 law firm plus

4 summer interns plus

1,000 documents scanned plus

22 dumpsters of old materials plus

9,000 gallon of shredding plus

400 banker boxes plus

Outings, mentorships and opportunity equals 

ONE amazing experience for two SFDS rising seniors! 

Roseann Scorpio, Director of Operations for Taft Law firm, had a big project. The growing law firm, which recently joined the AM Law 100, is renovating over 105,000 square feet of current and new office space. In preparation, the firm had a big project to clean out spaces, digitize materials, store confidential information and shred unneeded information. Rather than using current staff, Ms. Scorpio saw this as an opportunity to bring in some summer interns to learn about the legal world, earn summer money and help prepare the firm for their February 2023 completion of their building out/renovation. 

Partner James Oakley having heard about St. Francis de Sales Work Study program asked Ms. Scorpio if she would be interested in hiring some SFDS students for her summer internship. She was and she did! Two rising seniors at St. Francis de Sales, were hired along with two other interns, one a rising senior at Whitney Young and another a rising college senior at Loyola, to help the firm on their expansion project. 

The project involved a lot hard work, dust and some sweat as they shredded documents, boxed up confidential information for storage and cleaned out litigation war rooms. Ms. Scorpio believes that no matter ones role in a project, “people are more excited about their work, if they understand their role and the project as a whole” so she worked with the interns to explain how their work fit into the business of the law firm, how they were helping to keep client information confidential and also make attorneys more efficient providing them with digitized information.

What did the interns accomplish? A lot! The four interns:

• Scanned over 1,000 documents to their document management system

• Shredded approximately 100 ninety gallon bins

• Filled and indexed approximately 400 bankers boxes of files that were sent to storage

• Filled 22 dumpsters of old books, boxes, furniture, etc.

• Boxed 400 storage boxes of client information to send to the secure site, Iron Mountain 

• Cleaned up litigation war rooms 

• Created an electronic appellate library of information for attorneys 

Of course, it was not all about filing, shredding and storing. The firm wanted the interns to understand all aspects of the firm, not just legal work but also IT, marketing and HR. The interns met with partners who gave them overviews of cases and mentored them on college applications and the financial aid process. During their internship, they met with staff and many partners including:

• Graham C. Grady Partner  took the interns to lunch, discussed college and the financial aid process, shared his experience and mentored both students. 

• Chair Cid Froelich held numerous meetings with the interns and spent time with them to discuss careers aspirations.

• John Kennedy took time to meet with the interns to share facts about cases and legal profession to give more detail to the work of Taft Law.

The interns enjoyed their experience and learned a lot.

“My experience at Taft has been amazing, I was so grateful for this opportunity  because this is my first job . Working at a Law Firm is so much more than just attorneys and secretary’s , there are so many other departments in a law firm to learn about .  Everyone here has such good energy and are really nice and helpful. It was truly a great experience and I would love to come back and work here again.” 

“My experience at Taft has been very fun and interesting dealing with so many different people in this law firm has gave me an idea on what I want to do in my life as I get older.  Also I got to learn details on how to run company and to be lawyer I would wish to come back and visit all the great people here because it has been very good experience I enjoy my time here.”  Gregory, a rising senior shared.

Ms. Scorpio also made sure the interns had fun with outings around Chicago, including lunch, ice cream, taco lunches, and more! There is a lot to see downtown. One favorite was touring the farmers market at the Daley Center.

Ms. Scorpio was impressed with both students. They interviewed for this job and worked hard at the internship. She never had to follow up on a given assignment. The four interns became a team, learning from each other’s experience too. They were “absolutely outstanding” said Ms. Scorpio “I would hire them again!” 

Job well done! And thank you to Roseann Scorpio and the Taft Law firm! 

Straight from the Hood: A Conversation with J. Hood, Chicago Sports Broadcaster and SFDS Alum

St. Francis de Sales (SFDS) alumnus Jonathan Hood (’90), better known to Chicago sports radio listeners as “J. Hood,” has been a sports broadcaster for more than 25 years. After more than a decade at 670 The Score, Jonathan moved to ESPN 1000, where he has been a familiar voice for the past 16 years.

Jonathan currently co-hosts “Kap & J.Hood” weekdays from 7-10 a.m., and is a co-host of multiple shows on SiriusXM NBA Radio. He is also the play-by-play voice of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s baseball and men’s basketball teams.

Abby Melendrez, our SFDS Spotlight writer, recently caught up with Jonathan, and put the popular radio personality on the receiving end of the questions.

Abby: Your mother was a St. Francis de Sales Pioneer. Was it a foregone conclusion that you were also going to go to school there? 

Jonathan: It was not. I was looking at a few other schools, but it came down to my grandmother’s vote. She said, ‘Your mom was one of the first African Americans at the school, so I’d like for you to be a legacy.’ [Laughs] It was a very short conversation. There are chit chats…that was a chit.

Abby: I understand that your own high school athletic career was fairly short, but that you were an avid supporter of SFDS sports teams. How did that influence your career path?

Jonathan: I attempted to play baseball with Al Lodl. My grades did not hold up well enough for me to stay on the team, but I understood what school spirit was. At St. Francis de Sales, we supported our teams, from the freshman game at 4:00, to the sophomore game at 6:00, to the varsity game at 7:30. Afterwards we would kick it to Shoney’s or Pazzo’s—that was just part of the deal. Ultimately, us going to all those games was what led me to become a sportscaster.

Abby: What stands out for you from your academic experience at St. Francis de Sales?

Jonathan: There were a number of teachers I really liked who believed in me—from Larry Moore to Pete Thanos to Al Lodl to Mike Nicholson. And Mark Morgan—who I even had on my radio show a few times, which was always fun. When you’re a student, it’s so important for teachers to buy in, especially when your grades aren’t great. They did that for me.

Abby: What is your role at Illinois Media School?

Jonathan: I’ve been with IMS for seven or eight years now. After 20-plus years in the business, I wanted to be able to give back. I was a teacher on a weekly basis for four years, and now I do airchecks: kids will send me the best of what they do—talk shows, play by play—and I’ll judge what they need to do. I also go there once a month to talk to the students. It’s really rewarding.

Abby: ESPN, SiriusXM, play-by-play, teaching…talk to me about balancing your time and how you analyze new opportunities.

Jonathan: When we were dating, I told my future wife that there was going to be someone else in our lives, that I had a mistress: the business. Fortunately, my wife was also in the business, so she understood! With sports being seasonal, I can pick and choose the projects I enjoy doing on top of my full-time job with ESPN 1000 in the mornings, and I still get to do things like traveling and going to the movies with her.

At some point I’d like to wind down the on-air work and move into a management role as a program director or general manager.

Abby: For students who might think that your job is simply to watch a lot of sports and then talk about them, what would you tell them about the work behind the scenes?

Jonathan: Everything’s about preparation. Life is about preparation. Just because I’m a White Sox fan or Bears fan wasn’t going to make me a good radio guy. I work a three-hour show now, and I have to put at least that much time into prep. I have to know the main stories and have context for those stories, and also read out-of-town and national newspapers. To have that knowledge within the context of other teams, even if you don’t use it that day, is important. 

Students now have so many more advantages now because of digital and technical advancements, but I really believe that in today’s world you have to try to be good at multiple things, which gives you a whole horizon of opportunities. If radio didn’t work out, I’d go into coaching. If not coaching, I’d go into teaching. You have to go wide and deep in developing your skills so that you’re ready for those opportunities.

Abby: What haven’t I asked you that you would be asking yourself in an interview right now?

Jonathan: Were there any dark moments where you doubted yourself?

We all have ups and downs in this particular business. There are a lot of doors that will close on you, but if you’re determined and keep a stiff upper lip, you’ll be fine. If you send out a resume or make a phone call that doesn’t get answered, it just means it’s not your time.

My story is that I had an internship at WSCR in 1992. You would think that an internship would usually parlay into a job. They said, ‘Well, we’ll call you.’ I never got that phone call. So I’m sending the station resumes and tapes, and this guy responds. And so I got this idea to put a gym shoe in a shoebox along with my resume, and I sent a note to him saying, ‘I’m just looking to get my foot back in the door at WSCR.’ That certainly made an impression, but it was 1994 when I got my first paycheck from the station—two years after my internship. You have to be patient, but also persevere.

Get to know Hugo Chavez, Director of St. Francis de Sales work study program.

We caught up with Hugo Chavez, Director of St. Francis de Sales work study program at St. Francis de Sales earlier this month!

What is your current role at St. Francis de Sales?

Officially, I am the Director of the Southeast Side Experience Incubator, the St. Francis de Sales work study program.  I am consulting on and working to implement all the operational steps of our work study program. 

What did you do before you took this role? Where else did you work? 

I have had varied experiences throughout my work life.  For my education I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Bradley University and then a Masters in Business Administration (Marketing) from DePaul University and in between I passed the Illinois Certified Public Accountant exam.

My work experiences are quite varied.  Out of college I started working for a small start up company followed by 12 years at McDonald’s Corp plus a couple of other larger companies. I also worked at three different start up companies.  I am quite proud of my work as the Director of the Corporate Work Study Program at two different Cristo Rey Schools in Illinois where I learned a lot about working with high school students and building relationships with dozens of the organizations that employ students. My responsibilities included all the operations of the program including transportation, student training, automation of systems, coaching/mentoring students and finding new job partners.

I was involved with SFDS through the Big Shoulders Fund in 2018 and have kept in touch with St. Francis de Sales and the team since then. I am very excited to be working with Roni and her team on this exciting endeavor!

Why is it important for SFDS to add work study to the curriculum?

One benefit of work study programs is that companies pay for the students who work for them and that contributes significantly toward the cost of tuition. Lowering tuition for students is a benefit to students and families,  but even more important is that students work for companies and learn career skills, critical thinking and social skills by interacting with their adult peers. Work study programs also integrate well with academics at many levels.

Work study programs are also a great opportunity for students to learn about the varied careers that exist in the world and to work in various areas of a company. This gives students the opportunity to learn about areas like legal, marketing, sales and human resources. It gives students a leg up when they have seen where they could go. It helps as they pick colleges and majors and as they enter the workforce! 

How does SFDS differ from other schools where you have worked? 

There are many similarities between the schools where I previously worked and SFDS. All are Catholic college prep schools. Each has relatively lower enrollments under 400 students who come from hard working families and are driven from within to succeed.  But every school has its own unique culture and that is what I look forward to learning about at SFDS.

I also want to become familiar with the Southeast Side of Chicago and the families of the students who live here. The business community is unique here and building relationships in those companies/organizations is important also. 

What was your first ever job? 

As a kid I used to do yard work like cutting lawns, raking leaves and shoveling driveways in my neighborhood. In high school I worked at a nearby Dominick’s grocery store first as a grocery bagger and then as a stock clerk.

What skills do you think work study provides students?

The top two skills are interpersonal communications and confidence.  I know confidence is not a specific skill but when you work with adults you learn how to communicate at a higher level and work in a professional manner.  Students also develop professional relationships with people who want to see you succeed. The end result is each SFDS graduate will stand out from their peers at other schools because of the skills, time and effort they have expended at work. In a word, SFDS graduates will be much more polished than their peers as they go off to college.

Why would businesses want to have students take jobs? 

Every business struggles with a few things. First, there is never enough time in the day to complete all the work they need to get done. SFDS students can integrate into work teams and perform work that allows employees of the company to focus on more strategic work.

Secondly, for many years all companies struggle to attract and retain younger workers. This has only increased since COVID started in early 2020. So companies benefit from having SFDS students working. Companies also build relationships with multiple students at a young age which is good in the long term for all businesses. 

What do you like to do in your free time? Tell us a bit about yourself! 

I play a lot of tennis throughout the year.  Not sure how good I am but I always improve and it's a fun way to meet friends and get a pretty good workout.

Also,  with my son I am involved with Boy Scouts.  I have served as the Scoutmaster for our troop for the past 3 years.  Last August a group of 12 of us spent two weeks hiking in the mountains in New Mexico. We had to pack up all of our food and gear every morning and then hike to a new destination. It was quite an experience that involved some pretty hard climbs/descents but also was a lot of fun for the whole group.     

What do you like about SFDS? 

SFDS has a smaller enrollment than the schools I previously worked at and I see that as an advantage. I have found that I enjoy working in smaller organizations because they are more nimble and you can really get to know people.   

One example is having the opportunity to possibly provide more specialized training to student workers for jobs such as digital marketing or for very specific work projects.  Having a smaller enrollment makes it easier to meet the needs of companies that want to hire student teams and also meeting students where they are at in terms of their skill sets.

Also, I recently met Roni and we talked for two hours and it seemed like 20 minutes. I really liked hearing about the progress SFDS has made since my initial (short) involvement through the Big Shoulders Fund in 2018 plus hearing Roni’s vision for the future is inspiring.  

I am most  proud of helping my previous schools to really move to higher levels of success and I see that happening now at SFDS.  Working with talented and fun people at SFDS, and of course the students, is what I look forward to the most.

What is the next step for bringing work study to SFDS? 

We are finalizing the organization of the 501C-3 entity that will house work study. The entity will be called the Southeast Side Experience Incubator. Once that is formed, we will work to make sure all the legal paperwork is signed and the current jobs partners are committed. Most exciting is to make sure the work study curriculum for training is in place. It is a busy but exciting time. I hope we can provide updates every month for the community!

Coaching for Success—On and Off the Field

When St. Francis de Sales (SFDS) alumnus Roger Ochoa, ’95, picked up the phone to ask Principal Roni Facen about resurrecting the school’s baseball program, he got a little more than he had bargained for: “Roni offered me the chance to coach baseball...and then recruited me to be the school’s next athletic director,” he laughed. 

Roger enthusiastically accepted both offers, but although he is a veteran baseball coach, he admits that when it comes to the athletic director role, he is still very much a rookie: “The biggest challenge has definitely been the learning curve—handling everything from scheduling games and practices to coordinating buses,” he said. Roger credits his predecessor with helping him to learn the ropes: “I know I can always reach out to Miss Ramos, which has been really helpful,” he said.

When asked what he has enjoyed most about returning home to SFDS, Roger says that both connecting with students and encouraging them to come out for different sports have been especially rewarding. So far, he is off to a good start: this year’s boys’ soccer team started off as a group of eight students, but sign-ups quickly grew to more than 20. “That kind of interest tells me that our students’ enthusiasm for sports is contagious,” Roger said.

As a former two-sport SFDS athlete who now leads the school’s athletic program, it’s not surprising that two of Roger’s biggest influences from his days as a student were his own coaches: “Coach Lodl and Coach Lick, my baseball and football coaches, encouraged me to work hard and be successful,” he said. Their influence extended beyond the playing field: “Coach Lick was my Algebra II teacher,” Roger explained. “I’ll never forget the time he told me in the hallway that I had to get 100 percent on my next test to get an ‘A’ in the class. Because of that, I studied hard and got the grade, and let’s just say math wasn’t my favorite subject!”

Following his graduation from SFDS in 1995, Roger played one year of baseball and football at the University of St. Francis before sustaining a shoulder injury and transferring to the University of Illinois at Chicago. He later received his law degree from Loyola and married fellow SFDS alum Diana Ortiz in 2004. Roger has passed his love of sports along to all three of their children, and has coached his eldest son’s travel baseball team for the past seven years. Diana says that her husband is a “perfect fit” for his new role: “Roger has a way of connecting with kids and inspiring them to be better versions of themselves, and it’s especially meaningful to both of us that he has this opportunity to mentor and motivate students at our alma mater.”

Whether the SFDS students who come out for baseball next spring are experienced or brand new to the sport, Roger says that it won’t change his approach as coach: “No matter how little or how much they’ve played, my primary focus is getting back to the fundamentals of correct footwork, glovework, and batting. Baseball is a sport where, if you don’t practice those basics every day, you lose the skills.”

At the end of the day, proper hitting, catching, and fielding are only the beginning of the fundamentals Roger aims to teach SFDS student athletes: “I think the main goal of sports is to create good young men and women moving forward in life, being able to work hard as a team, being able to face adversity, and to learn how to accept losing and learn from it,” he said. “These are basic life skills that I learned from Coach Lodl and Coach Lick, and they helped make me the coach and person I am today. If I can help teach our students those same fundamentals, I know they will be successful in anything they do.”

Paying it Forward -- Jackie Barthelemy '06

For many young, single mothers, career aspirations are often sidelined—or abandoned altogether—due to the challenges inherent in parenting at such a young age. For St. Francis de Sales alumna Jackie Barthelemy (’06), however, it was the support that she received during her pregnancy that inspired her to pursue a career that would allow her to pay it forward.

“After I learned I was pregnant during my senior year at St. Francis, my guidance counselor, Ms. Horvath, was one of the first people I talked to about it,” Jackie said. “I met with her for more than just scheduling and credits. She took an interest in who I was as a person, and I feel like that made all the difference for me.” Jackie says that the experience inspired her to pursue the same career path. “I knew that I wanted to help students because of the amazing support I received at St. Francis when I needed it most.”

After earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Xavier University, Jackie began working as a school counselor in Chicago, and later in Northwest Indiana. Of her eight years of experience, she acknowledges that the past year has been the most challenging: “The pandemic has been really hard for students, and there’s been a lot of anxiety about returning to in-person learning and trying to get back to the new normal,” she said. While the specific challenges her students now face may be different than those she experienced, Jackie recognizes in her students the same need for support she had. “After my counselor was there for me, I wanted to be that someone for someone else, and I pride myself on that now.”

Reflecting on her St. Francis experience, Jackie admits that it was challenging for other reasons, including the rigorous academic standards she was expected to meet. “I felt like I had spent most of my life getting by because I was smart,” she said. “When I got to St. Francis and the honors math program, I realized how underprepared I was. I had to study and work really hard!” In addition to a tough class load, Jackie juggled three sports her freshman year, and managed to participate in Spanish Club, Drama Club, and National Honor Society while often working two or three jobs at a time.

Now, 15 years after graduating, Jackie is proud to not only call herself a St. Francis alumna, but also a St. Francis parent: her 14-year-old son Santos is a freshman, and the recipient of the 2021-2022 Alumni Raffle Scholarship. Jackie admits that seeing her son walk through the doors of her alma mater is still a bit surreal. “I still see Santos as my baby, but of course he’ll always be my baby! As a mother I'm so proud to see him become this man he wants to be. He’s strong and smart, and he sticks up for other kids. I’m in awe of him.”

Santos says that his mother has shared plenty of stories about St. Francis with him over the years, including some valuable life lessons. “My mom told me that at times she wasn't the best student, so that's why she tells me to always stay on top of my work,” he said. “Playing soccer and basketball this year is a huge time commitment, so it forces me to keep up!”

He is quick to add that his mother being an alumna was not the primary reason he chose the school. “The main reason why I'm here at St. Francis is because of the community. This school is small, meaning mostly everybody knows everybody, and from what I'm seeing, everyone has each other’s back—like a big family,” he said.

Jackie is thrilled that her son has had such a positive experience at St. Francis so far. “As a single mother, it makes me happy to know that the school has really strong male teachers in the building,” she said. “I know that Santos has people looking out for him, including men who model for him the type of man he can strive to become.”

Teachers aren’t the only staff members whose praises Jackie sings; she’s particularly fond of one former classmate of hers: Principal Roni Facen. “Roni is someone who gets things done, and she just genuinely cares about her kids,” Jackie said. “She sat with Santos when he was deciding which high school to attend and made a pros and cons list with him.” Jackie may soon be working alongside Roni to provide after-school counseling at St. Francis a few days a week, a development she’s excited about. “It’s amazing to think that Roni’s and my journeys both started here, and now we’re coming full circle,” Jackie said.

As for his own journey, Santos says that he’s enjoying learning history, algebra, and science, and that he hopes to eventually embark on a career in photography. It’s clear that whatever path he chooses, he will have his mother’s unconditional support—the kind of support she has not taken for granted since it was extended to her 15 years ago. “I was very fortunate that St. Francis was supportive of me,” Jackie said. “I’m grateful for the experience, and for the lifelong friendships I've made. I’m even grateful for the detentions and tough love! I’m just truly grateful for everything. My experiences at St. Francis made me a better student, a better mom, and a better person.”