Wright College’s Humboldt Park Campus Offers Engineering, ESL Programs

Quietly tucked away on California Avenue is Wright College’s Humboldt Park Campus — a campus dedicated to bettering the education of those who seek it.

Opened in 1989, Wright’s Humboldt Park campus offers adult education classes, English as a Second Language classes, GED courses, certificate programs, and 16-week credit classes.

With such a large option for courses, an advising staff is available on campus for students to figure out what they want to do. Humboldt’s Head Advisor, Alejandro Herrera, has been dedicated to helping Wright students navigate higher education since 2006.

“I think because higher education, in general, it can be very tricky to maneuver,” Herrera said, “and I think having a key person, which is a college advisor, can help you through the system.”

Herrera earned his bachelor's in education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and his master's in higher educational leadership at Northeastern University, which led him to become a college advisor.

Humboldt Park’s advising office is that of the main campus: A college advisor, business services, and a testing specialist for placement tests. The only difference is its size.

“At the main campus you have entire departments with at least 4-5 people each,” Herrera said. “Here, we have one per department. We serve anybody.”

Herrera’s caseload, the students he is assigned, is at 85. Many of them are ESL students, Star Scholars, and students preparing to transfer to 4-year universities.

Students at the main campus outnumber those at the vocational center, and with a smaller student population comes a smaller advising staff. Though that doesn't mean the vocational center students work any less, according to Herrera.

Computer numerical control programming, or CNC, is a part of the engineering career field that codes and manufactures machine tools. Pre-programmed software creates the movement of factory machinery and tools, similar to how a 3d printing machine works. Wright’s vocational campus hosts various CNC programs that CNC instructor Luis Guillen has led for 11 years, and counting.

Reggie Woods working on CNC machinery

“They can do 16 credit hours to get a basic certificate, or they can do 37 credit hour advanced certificate which will help them to get a degree in manufacturing or engineering,” Guillen said. “It’s a great program, and we have a 90% job placement.”

Engineering lives on all of the campus’ three floors, considering the engineering department's high concentration of enrolled students. The vocational centers' demand for engineering classes is enormous, and they have all three floors full of CNC machinery, 3D printers, robotics machinery, and laser engravers, alongside other programs.

During the summer, youth STEM classes open, allowing Chicago's youth to explore engineering at Wright’s Humboldt Park campus.

Certificate programs like the CNC programming pathway allow students to continue their education by earning college credit, as well as return to work after completion.

Guillen’s instruction varies from morning to night, depending on availability and scheduling for students. Engineering students like Humboldt Park’s Reggie Woods and Antonio Humphrey spend the day with Guillen in the lab, exploring what CNC has to offer.

Antonio Humphrey (left) and Reggie Woods (right)

Woods said Humphrey told him about the opportunity, and the two registered the following Fall 2022 semester.

“We weren't doing anything and this was just something to do,” Woods said about CNC programming. “But we actually started to like it.”

Additionally, the CNC pathway compensates students $25 per day, and students receive a check every two weeks. After completion of the program, students can get placed with a CNC job, or they can transfer to a four-year institution.

Even with so many benefits and accessibility, both Guillen and Herrera feel that not enough outreach is placed on the program, and its participants.

“Nobody knows about this, not even the main campus,” Guillen said. “Nobody advertises there and we are trying to do that and somehow, it gets lost somewhere.”

Apart from engineering certificate students are ESL students, many coming from Ukraine and Venezuela. The Wright Vocational campus offers ESL classes free of charge to anyone who wants to learn English, and through the FutureReady initiative, they are able to continue their education free of charge.

The CCC Future Ready initiative is a short-term program for no cost. Any student can apply, and undocumented students are also eligible. Part of the job for Herrera is to help prepare ESL students to then be able to take credit courses and earn a degree from Wright.

“They are simply here to learn English,” Herrera said. “Some of them have a desire to earn a certificate to be able to get a job. Some of them are educated already, they just need to speak the language.”

Sister City Colleges also have additional campuses, so the idea is not unfamiliar to the City Colleges system. Malcolm X has their West Side Learning Center, and Richard Daley has the Arturo Velasquez Institute. Satellite campuses and the students that attend them are as notable as main campus links.

“Sometimes you have to do a little extra to help students,” Herrera said. “To keep the conversation, or to even start the conversation. We would like the light shined on our students as much as they deserve.”