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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students welcomed an anonymous donor on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in their first gymnasium, which was made possible by a generous gift. 

“Your gift makes such a difference, and one thing we value at SIUE is partnerships,” said SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook. “You can see how the Multipurpose Room looks and feels different.” 

To better accommodate the physical needs of CHS students and to expand the use of the space, the Multipurpose Room at the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus was renovated into a Multipurpose Room/Gym, according to Vice Chancellor for Administration Rich Walker. 

Other SIUE officials attending the program, “A Gift That is Shaping a Changing World Right Here at the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School,” included: Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Denise Cobb, PhD; Vice Chancellor for Advancement Rachel Stack; Associate Chancellor and Chief Diversity Officer Venessa A. Brown, PhD; School of Education, Health and Human Behavior Dean Robin Hughes, PhD; Chief of Staff and CHS Board Chair Kim Durr; CHS Director Gina Jeffries, EdD; and SIUE East St. Louis Center Director (ESLC) Timothy Staples, EdD. 

During the program, the donor was updated on the advancements and resources made possible by the gift. Joel Scott, who has a 3.5 GPA, and Allen Williams, who has a 3.2 GPA, both received scholarships to SIUE funded by the donor. Each wrote a letter conveying their thanks and progress in school. 

In other highlights, several students expressed appreciation for having the use of a state-of-the-art STEM lab and being gifted with chrome books. Johnathan Tate, CHS STEM chair, provided a robotics update. 

“We wanted you to see the impact your family’s gift is having on our students,” said Jeffries. “I promise you that at the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School amazing things are happening, and that is because of you.” 

“The idea for converting the Multipurpose Room from a meeting space to a recreation space was suggested at one of the Chancellor’s East St. Louis Question and Answer sessions,” noted Walker. “The only place for ball activity was outdoors, and not useful for much of the year due to weather. 

“The new space can still be used as a meeting space for both on- and off-campus groups, but its retrofit will also allow it to be used for basketball, and any other sport that uses court space. The space will benefit the ESLC grants programs, Charter High School, and various other on- and off-campus organizations. It can now be used for recitals, meetings, banquets and recreation.” 

The SIUE Charter High School is a school-of-choice for families in the East St. Louis School District 189. The mission of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School is to prepare students who are career- and college-ready upon graduation. To achieve this mission, the school and its staff will positively impact the educational and economic lives of East St. Louis, Illinois youth through individualized instruction in core academic subjects, exploration of career interests and aptitudes, assistance in realizing students’ talents, high academic goals, and expectations that graduates will become competitive employees for the 21st century. 

Photos:
SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School sophomore Chaquana Gomiller explains her robotic invention to SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook.

Johnathan Tate, CHS STEM chair (left) with CHS sophomore Nathaniel Brewster.