Celso Cárdenas, 24, was born and raised in La Villita on the Southwest Side of Chicago. He recently received his bachelor’s in Latino studies from the University of Michigan. At the university, he took on leadership roles in various organizations and developed and implemented many programs to help the Latino community of the university and surrounding community.
Celso worked at Project VIDA for two years, co-facilitating the CRU program, which is a weekly discussion/support group for GBTQ Latino and African-American youth. Cárdenas also provided HIV testing and counseling sessions for clients. Furthermore, he was one of the two coordinators for the annual citywide program ‘Loud & Proud,’ an LGBTQ youth summit that brings together LGBTQ youth from all across the city to enjoy a day dedicated to their education and well-being.
Celso currently works as a lounge supervisor for the Teen Connection program, a tutoring/mentoring program for middle and high school students, at Gads Hill Center in Pilsen. There, he manages the staff and program participants, and is in charge of documenting and tracking the progress of the program’s participants. In his free time, he also facilitates the Adult Latino MSM program (ALAS) at the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association.
Celso recently started working towards his master’s in public administration at UIC. He is dedicated to serving his community, contributing all of his efforts to ensuring Latino and LGBTQ youth feel a great sense of support.
DID YOU KNOW? In 2005, he had a short story published in the book ‘Brotherhood: Gay Life in College Fraternities.’