Silvia Robles and William Stewart

00:02 My name is William Alexander Stewart. I am 26 years old. That is October 1st 1986 a great day in American history.

00:17 Currently we are in the beautiful cultural Dynamic Chicago, Illinois. Let me just say something and I know this yesterday. So we're walking Old Town Sylveon. I who is my accomplice for this conversation? And what we're noticing is that everybody is so in shape, right and it is a great thing and I just get the feeling when I got to Chicago you get off the plane and you instant instantly realized that if you're not a Blackhawks fan

00:52 Cocky think you're not in the right place, right? It's all just feel like, you know people work out go watch the Blackhawks after work relationship to partner.

01:05 Silvia is one of my favorite youth at Community Coalition. She is a budding leader that we have in our program and which is actually why she's here right now. I don't know if I got a chance to tell you to Sylvia, but the reason why you're here is because we've noticed your leadership development, but most importantly your dedication how your consistency and your work ethic. So, I don't know if I really got a chance to explain it to you in all the hustle and bustle, but I just want to take time to tell you that now.

01:50 Can my name is Sylvia?

01:53 Robles

01:56 Okay, I'm 18. I was born May 1st 1995.

02:09 Placer lifetime 2013 location Chicago, Illinois relationship to partner

02:31 Alex

02:32 Is like a brother to me sort of so I consider him as a brother?

02:39 My life is complete.

02:43 First question. Okay. What is the happiest moment of your life and the saddest?

02:50 Wow, you swinging for the fences early right? Let me get some warm up pictures. All right.

02:58 I see I will say one of the happiest moments of My Life One of that I can remember is.

03:09 I just come back from

03:13 A trip with happy Habitat for Humanity and my church as well. We went to Chile Argentina and Brazil and it was the most exciting amazing trip. I had ever been on in my life, right 16 days.

03:31 And I got back home and

03:35 On my desk was my acceptance package to USC and

03:43 I just remember being like that type of excited that just makes you like.

03:49 Instantly feel like every decision you've ever made, you know was like the right one. You know what I mean just really makes you like fail.

04:00 On the inside, right? So that was the happiest day one of absolutely just one of the happiest days that I can ask Siri call the distance station that I had sadist.

04:17 You asked for it. I remember when my parents were going through a divorce.

04:26 &

04:30 That was young. I was at like 11 years old, but it's still weird cuz I had this like Consciousness around what was going on that was

04:39 It was actually kind of.

04:42 Crazy, right and armor my mom.

04:47 Was a in a room and her my pop were arguing Frazee argue enough.

04:56 &

04:58 I hear a bunch of hustling and bustling in.

05:01 Who knows what was happening top storms out with like a handful of clothes or something.

05:07 Crazy like that and he leaves.

05:12 Mom's Paul this War II cry and kind of walking around pacing scream at the top of her lungs.

05:19 And then all of a sudden she runs out and you know, those little notepads next that you keep next to the phone like the house phone.

05:28 And I just remember she had this like bright red like raising her eyes.

05:35 And she runs out she gives us enough time to get to the gate like still with them like that 70% accuracy area and she cries to know Pat and just throw it at him, right?

05:48 And I just remember being so full of so many different emotions is confused and sad and everything and the real side to that as I remember she came back inside and

06:01 I will literally never forget this moment. She can become stuck inside. She's absolutely hysterical crying like from her.

06:09 Ancestor Souls Right light just crying deeply and she like her back just hit the wall and she just like slides down the wall into like this like fetal crying position. Right and I'm 11 years old and seeing the most vulnerable that I've ever seen my mom before it affecting me in like a

06:32 Like a

06:35 A serious way right? So that was probably

06:39 Yeah, that's just first memory recall in the first memory when you said like the saddest day. That's what comes to mind. It's pretty sad.

06:53 So Sylvia

06:55 I'll just ask one of those questions and then I have some other questions that I would like to ask you. All right. So first question is what can you remember being the happiest moment or one of the happiest moments in your life?

07:17 Okay.

07:19 Happiest moment of my life

07:22 Was like it was like an everyday thing, but it just like calls me back. This is

07:33 Okay where my family was together?

07:38 And it just like breaks me down like barely.

07:43 Is there so many memories and

07:46 Now just hard theme.

07:51 And as I know there were so many happy memories that

07:55 I wish I could go back to that. I can't really.

08:03 Okay, so I'm a change gears a little bit. All right, stay with me. All right, so where organizers that's what we do. All right, so I want to kind of make a little left hand turn here Stay With Me

08:21 So I know that you went to Fremont High School, right? So let's do like a little mental Journey, right? Can you kind of tell me like how you felt when you found out that you were going to Fremont High School? Was it somewhere that you wanted to be?

08:42 Are you excited to go to Fremont? Was it just your homeschool?

08:49 Was it that you were moved from like another district and to Fremont High School? I'll just start there for now care where I wanted to go to but my mom was really strict about me not going there cuz she heard it was bad and stuff like that. So she wouldn't want me to magnet school cuz and middle schools in an Italian program. They had Chase. We like my 7th grade year, so

09:19 I was in Miami for 2 years and she want to send me to Bravo Bravo medical Magnet High School.

09:28 Wishes and East Los Angeles. So it was like really far and she was expecting me to take the bus everything. I was like nah you trippin.

09:39 So I don't want to do it cuz I had to take a test and freely paperwork and I didn't want to do that, but I thought it was just too much. So I ended up going to Fremont and I felt like comfortable like cuz I live around that area and I know people older people at that went there. So

10:01 So so to follow that question up.

10:05 Now that kind of got like a little bit of background.

10:09 Can you describe Fremont High School? So what does it look like?

10:16 What is the community around Fremont High School look like?

10:21 What types of feelings do you have going to school there everyday?

10:30 Well, I'm going to go there everyday was like it was good. But like I felt like

10:37 My classes were just like oversized too many students and I felt like when teacher is teaching like they didn't really get deep into it. Like all they'll be that all here's your work. Right? Cuz there's like so stuff like because there's no sound like you wanted to stand yourself, but there's like so Starview you got it. You could like easier figure it out. So that was one of the problems.

11:01 Like we did have like it was just like all teachers when I All Care through this Art and Design and that's a great that you wouldn't literally learning things. So I think that was the easiest in your high school.

11:14 But like I think sometimes there's teacher that is due care and I all like they help you this after school and try to help you get your greater and higher no knowing that you could do it.

11:28 What does Fremont High School if you could describe like what it looks like, you know, if you could put words to like what you see, you know, the color of the smells, right the students like the culture of the students like are they rambunctious and just all over the place? Is it a very chill campus like kind of describe what Fremont High School looks like

11:58 Well, everyone is pretty so I can say that but it's like

12:07 There was just like

12:11 Does the time of diversity where I always just black people and other sisters fighting people and I wasted a lot and it's like people that play sports and since I'm Black and I'm proud of you. So I was like you see Black and Hispanic and them to ask you some one spot. So I think that's the way I was separated.

12:34 I really like the campus compared to all the campus. I've been to.

12:40 Cuz Dorothy Rania like their campuses not popping is not so just like it is.

12:50 Okay.

12:52 Do you want to ask me any more questions?

13:07 What made you?

13:10 Amazing

13:12 Joy Community Coalition

13:15 Should I question? All right.

13:19 So what started it was Freedom schools 2 years ago.

13:27 So I

13:31 Heard through the grapevine right one of my fraternity brothers who worked at Community Coalition Tona. I was coming out of school. I was getting done with an internship and he told me there's an opportunity for summer program summer teaching program and it's funny because I was a very last person to interview and they had all the slots were already full so Words With Friends school for three Summers now and each of the Summer's I was not supposed to be working for Freedom schools, which is crazy. So all the slots were full the interview me Aaron and kurumi interview me and they said they definitely love my interview like love my energy great and I was feeling good like yeah, I got it for sure. To call the next day like, you know what has lots of for we apologize for not going to be over, you know, it's an opportunity to you. So I was slightly bomb but you know how it is. I was like just coming out of school like the world is my oyster like guaranteed. I have something like three days, right?

14:30 And I was working a real estate at that time.

14:34 And some kind of like thinking. Okay, What's my next move? Then the following day my phone rings again phone pick it up. Hello. Is this Alex? It absolutely is.

14:47 We have some good news for you a spot just opened up with Fritos schools. Would you like to accept the position of being a servant leader in turn which is like a teacher and I said absolutely that's what I want to do. So that was like that was the first you needless to say. I loved it love to use in at that time or program was just I was before we extended it to high schoolers. So which is elementary and middle school youth black and brown use the South Vallejo that for shade Learning Center. That's where it was the was based and had a great time at summer make some good relationships young people in the eye of the stuff. I wanted what I want to do, but I had like one more class to finish so I couldn't go anywhere and work full time, which I would have applied to work at Community Coalition after that first year and then

15:36 Did some odd jobs for a year just kind of kept myself sharp and then Freedom schools are coming back around for that second year and I said, I'm trying to be the site coordinator the head honcho, right? Cuz I enjoyed it so much and I went into interview and I was there and I interview with two of our staff members at cocoa and feel like the interview was

16:02 Fair to poor right? So I was kind of bummed about it. And so I went to go talk to that same fraternity brother who had given me the Insight last year and I was like man is kind of like talking to him like he got this all well and I just kind of venting like this going through my like self-medication process and incomes Marquis who's President CEO of Community Coalition and I'm kind of just you know, he can walk same very slow, you know, very direct and he's kind of like chilling and he's like so how'd the interview go and I told him he's like, okay he was like, are you interested in full-time employment and I was like sign me up absolutely right here resume.

16:50 And I interviewed me and I was kind of unclear about what position like I was going to get. I think you know, it's it's been so long ago, but I think if I'm memory serves me, correct, it was something with like working with him kind of doing some special projects, you know, a very sort of undefined role right sided.

17:12 And then

17:15 Community Coalition, you know being a beast that it is they station me in the say office, which is South Central youth empowered through action, which is I use component and I was kind of working out of that doing my reading kind of understanding Coco and next thing, you know, Alex. Do you want to sit in on one of our meetings Alex? Do you want to go to a wellness groups? And then I'm like, okay cool and it's like, okay Alex. Would you come and help us with this Tuesday night meeting call Arce at meeting. All right, Alex. I was at the Thursday night meeting. No problem Alex. Can you help support do some Outreach at Washington High School? Yeah, I can do I can support you guys doing Outreach. Hey Alex. We want you to organize at Manual Arts High School 00. And then I said I got the big jump there so many yards of my first organized that and then they moved me from there to Dorsey High School from Dorsey High School to Crenshaw High School.

18:12 And you know after that all this kind of like I was in and I was in the eye of the tornado that is saying so I kind of had a roundabout way of coming in but I will say this I will say this working for I work for a big fund.

18:27 A real estate find commercial stuff Apartments shopping centers things like that completely different world, right definitely was focused on money. USC is the real estate capital of Southern California. Boom Point Blank. So I just knew I was going to be a mogul, but I think that I was I felt like I was missing something, you know, I feel like my roots are stronger and you know wanting to give something back.

18:57 Just cuz I didn't have a traditional story. Like I went to Long Beach Poly, you know.

19:03 And I was fortunate enough to go through Santa Monica College and make my way to USC. So I was like man, I know there's other kids just like me who can use somebody to kind of give them some guidance and mentorship and I'm up here in this like West LA Ivory Tower. Like I know that there's some real work that I can do.

19:25 In a little bit deeper. So that's the reason why I came in to Community Coalition and why haven't left yet?

19:32 You mentioned you loved working with the kids at Freedom schools. And that's why you stayed on and moved into position your now and I was wondering like if you could describe to us, what you up about working with you.

19:48 Man, where do I start?

19:58 So I would say the first thing.

20:02 Is there

20:06 Energy

20:10 Do you know their optimism?

20:14 And they're just so Dynamic, you know young people are so like real. I love that.

20:24 What kind of pushes me is that I see a lot of myself and you guys.

20:31 And you know being older little bit older little bit. I just know the importance of like

20:41 Those small conversations that you can have that literally alter the course of your entire life, right? You know, somebody telling you how important like getting in the books like bro. I'm telling you man getting the books. So powerful thing. It's not just like, you know,

20:59 Somebody like I have no opportunities to like tail.

21:05 Young people like I'm telling you you follow the crowd.

21:10 It's not a good path to go down. You strike out for yourself did individual, you know?

21:18 There's a lot more opportunities. I can possibly come your way.

21:22 And I think like haven't been in a place where I have moments like that that are like always almost always available to me. You know, what you don't you know, how much I talk to you guys and I like I try to like always give you something that's the major thing that makes me like love love working with young people.

21:40 Just that investment and me just being like a c planner literally like not saying I have you know, all the right answers but saying, you know what I'm going to give you whatever best practice that I found in my life. Imma give it to you so I can cheat code to come little sister all the time so I can cheat code. I'm going to give it to you and I just hope and I have this like super deep hope that you'll be faced with like a scenario. They will be faced with some kind of scenario where it literally is like a left or right bid a boyfriend or girlfriend to take bid. Was it a go to school or whether to go get a job?

22:18 You know beard doing drugs, you know, trying it, you know versus having a lifestyle that's like pasta around like drug culture and things like that and just really able to have those critical conversation and if I can get you know, the young people just be like one time like nah, I'm good, bro. Imma go do something else instead of doing that. I just feel like that's a victory and I feel like there's like string enough of those along and you really made a material difference and then the infancy of like, you know, young people in like Sylvia, you can be whatever you want to be right but having those times where you make those decisions those good decision that push along that path powerful to me and that's what I want to see for you guys and I want you guys to be

23:04 Absolutely, amazing and confident.

23:08 & offensive, you know, like not defensive like that go get the world like go get it. This is my world belongs to me.

23:18 So

23:20 That's what makes me do the work every day. That's what makes me excited to go to work with young people.

23:25 Are silver question for you? All right, so you call yourself a baller, right? So tell me a little bit about like how you started playing basketball. Like how did it Middle School elementary school high school high school my freshman year. It was just horrible. I was bad. I like the lowest grades. Like I didn't really care either. I just got out of Middle School like I'm starting freshman in high school, so I don't care, you know sophomore year, my friend.

24:08 Like we grew up together and like

24:12 Siri was playing basketball your freshman year and

24:16 She asked me to go with her and I was like no, I don't want play. It's not my thing and then

24:23 So I went with her but I was like she's like all this practice but I was like, yeah, I'll practice we not one time and then like I want to practice and then all the girls are corn flakes and then the college was all I all like you should play basketball and I really wasn't thinking about it but I started practicing with them and I have to tell him now and I he's I all but like why you practicing I like to dislike interesting like I was learning cuz my shot was in so it was just horrible. Yeah. Yeah. I like I'm a mess but it's like I didn't think I didn't feel like I was with other girls so I can do that in order to have to go bad. And so I was like, okay, you know what I want to play so he gave me all the paperwork and I was so excited.

25:23 Season cam Phrase game I have never going to forget this nervous. I was a nervous. I was just like, oh, you know we got this so

25:34 It was at Franklin High School at 7. It was a night game. So we're playing the short white girls know I posted was tall and now we're playing okay we got

25:49 Like we literally got murdered. It was 1860 something. That's how bad it was forever. Like I got like all these I got a bruise on my face like this big purple bruises there my face I had

26:07 I would like a I scraped my knee badly. I was like it was going to say is that all like this'll basketball really is I was like why I like we're going to win.

26:32 We used to have like summer offseason practice during the summer and after after winter alike.

26:43 I know but I know I got better cuz like it'll always be me a practice like after the graduating class. We had no girls. So it was really hard to find a team and like you only see like me and some other girl say it like I want to be me and her practicing like everyday and I will suck like it will make me not want to play no more but it's like I'm not just going to like leave basketball just two other girls are not committed to and then after a while I I like this girl like this commitment to it and I think that helped because it always to play basketball you have to have like this GPA. So all my grades are like really good and I think my mom she was proud of me, but then she was like, no. I don't want to play basketball cuz I'll get hurt like every season I played three years like I got like heard my second season open.

27:43 Fracture hand with a r I made this season. I hurt my knee is just like I don't know. I just got hurt and my grandma she was like this trick one. Like she's always telling me that I owe you shouldn't be paying that. You should leave it to the guys. I don't like no like I like

28:09 Like the closest really proud of me at the end cuz I was one of the girls I really improved a lot. This is really fun basketball light therapy for you to feel good. Like just forget about everything that she was like not feeling it. Yeah, it helps a lot. Can you tell me a little bit cuz I play sports growing up to about a time where you were like literally like scared like you maybe it was like or nervous, you know, you felt like maybe you have to like dark somebody that you thought was like quicker than you or like taller than you a bigger than you in life. Like how you feel. But how'd you kind of like get past it? You know, who is Harry Potter's the point guard from my school shoes like really good and I don't know like she just thought she could just run over me like go to the bathroom.

29:09 Like one day I will beat you really lie about that. So.

29:15 Like I don't play point guard shoes the point guard and when I used to play the Rosario's like really hard, but it's like

29:23 I was like one of the best pair. So if any of them got hurt you not have to take the responsibility to play point guard and like that was like my biggest like I can play this position is it was really hard especially when you have a defense putting pressure on the bar and they trying to trap you it's as bad as I was like, I tried it. I just really got the ball stolen. So that means like I had that's a good thing. Like I never I will never give up but like try to like go back and I'm not let her shoot anything.

30:01 So we're playing after this season and they were playing and I don't know what's up with her, but I was ready to head out there. Like I got to steal from her. I shot a layup like right in front of her I fase park and Sean. I like literally got a 3-pointer. Like I was just like really excited. LOL. Say the colors. I think you see this like I have her name is Ashley. I have never beaten Ashley excuses. Like the quickest one. Like I top scorer and I just felt so good that they like I think you like she was like, I think she was a person that got me to be more competitive, you know that has been a part of your life and like another way or maybe like even in school or at home or some other aspect of your life where you were like,

30:56 I remember asked if I could be a c i could beat this math test. You know what I mean? Like or any moment where you feel like it was a it was a connection between like on the court and off the court.

31:09 Or

31:13 When James came along like it reminded me of her cuz she liked it right at her cuz like he will tell me. Oh, you can't beat me and I shall tell me the same thing. So I'm like I'm like, I'm going to let you just leave off without me winning at least one game and so he was like really on my case. Like you're not going to be with me. I've been paying for three years. I've been playing for at least two months feels like I'm going to have to be too. So it's just like it makes me feel like I could accomplish Steve if I keep trying and trying and makes me so excited. So moral of the story is don't start nothing with Sylvia cuz she going to finish it. I'm down with that question.

32:01 Kind of where do you see yourself going in the future? Right? So of course nobody has it all figured out so don't trip or just water someone like when you close your eyes and you thinking about adult Chrome Sylvia bossy Sylvia, right? Where do you see yourself doing or what? Do you want to do a free iPhone 7

32:31 A phrase I wanted to be.

32:36 Firefighter like fun, but then after a while when I join Community Coalition, I was like I like I like this and it's like I always thought about being a teacher but it seems like I'm not I wasn't used to fact that all like you have to deal with this but then like I started and that's the reason I stayed cuz I was planning on to stay cuz of basketball basketball was always in the way and I always took basketball really seriously so that I asked her why I like I started dying like Alexandra inside a world like made me do this and I thought it was fine. So

33:17 I was like, I like those you know, and that's when the idea popped out. Like I want to be a teacher now. Yeah, like organized and you guys made me realize that I do want to work in education that I do like I'm a teacher. So that's crazy. We have that in common my brother he

33:44 She started liking always thought I was talking Spanish to him and he's just got like really good at English. But the only reason cuz of my Grandma she's only speak Spanish. I like right now like he knows how to count like all the way to a hundred and he's only five I mean for he knows his ABCs and he knows I like the little

34:04 Song baby singing man. I love like all like me and like I read to him like every time a lot in my thing that really expire was like cuz he's actually growing from it. Yeah, and I want to see Jesus. Oh, I think that I don't know. It's just it just feels good for you and you be going to Cal State Northridge and fall. So do you plan on majoring in like education or

34:35 I so excited cuz I didn't really think.

34:41 Why did they are going to graduate but I didn't really see myself like all like and less than if you want by all going to college but it's if it's probably cuz I'm like the first one of my phone is going to college and like that's an example for my younger siblings and it's a child. I wish my mother would have had you know.

35:08 So this is going to be documented.

35:12 For all of history, so if you could tell

35:18 Say it's 10 years down the line and your twenty-eight-year-old Sylvia.

35:24 Write what would you want to reach back and tell to like maybe 14 or 15 year old Sylvia? Like what? Where is it at Vice what you want to give to somebody? That's like maybe just now coming in the High School freshman new?

35:43 But I will tell them like or like if you want to like really do something like don't let nothing like or no one like tell you that you can't do this cuz your eyes eventually like you're going to do it and it's like unbelievable but like but you just did that you just accomplished that.

36:04 And I was like, I think that's what my life been all about. Like how people tell me or you're not going to get here or you're not going to do this right or something. But I end up going through you know, so is it is there anything like from your high school experience that you like it like a specific energy like that, which I would have did that a little bit differently or like I wish I would have done that for better or

36:33 My freshman year, I think I messed up a lot and I have to like make up for those costumes. Now if I wouldn't do like that. I was just kept like how was in Middle School. So I didn't more counselors somebody you would have been over to tell you that right anything as far as like a college so going to Northridge. I know you're excited to be there. I know you going to kill it. Is there anything that like you're not your kind of telling yourself? Like I want to be on top of this like when I get to it when I get to College like I want to make sure you're always doing this like right, you know, is there anything?

37:16 Thanks far as I'm for example, like homework study and reading like stand on top of the reading like anything that you're telling yourself like. Yeah, I definitely want to do that or eat, maybe even look like a club you want to join, you know, anything that you want to do socially when you get there at you excited to do when you get there.

37:34 Well was decided I really want to do basketball. Okay, you don't want the basketball.

37:52 Okay, I'm excited for you to go. I'll just say this then from a college student's perspective some of the best advice I can give you is stay on top of the reading that is like 90% of the battle. So have all the fun you want. But just make sure that you make time to do the reading and go and talk to your professors for like if you don't understand something be like yo Professor, I don't get it. Keep break this down for me a little bit more right? So that's my suggestion is my little gift to you going in. The college is make sure that you stay on top of the reasons. They say you got to read 75 Pages by Thursday's class and it's Tuesday. Okay and break those pages up, you know how much you can read it at I stream the 80d so I read crazy slow and it takes me crazy long so, you know, but that's my suggestion to you. Okay, stay on top of everything and talk to your professors.

38:55 High so I'm actually glad that we got two chances down talk like us to learn some things about you that I didn't know.

39:02 So thank you Sylvia sitting down talking to me.

39:09 It was nice talking to you Alex. Even though I talk to you like almost everyday and you're annoying but it's 32. I don't want to talk to that you are going to start arguing.

39:32 It's been great. Thank you. Sylvia for being amazing. I want to tell you that I do look up to you like he is just

39:45 I don't know like I just felt like you were in like so serious and then after a while I call okay, that's just the way he is and he's always at all like so energetic and he's doing all this weird stuff, but it's just Alex, you know, nothing I could do to change that. I should buy you like a loser shirt. I feel so ads, although can't hate on that streamline.

40:13 Alright. Thank you, Sylvia.