Thornton Township High School

Thornton Township High School is a public high school located in the suburb of Harvey on Chicago's South Side. It opened in 1899, the location decided by a special election on May 28, 1898, with construction led by architect Oscar L. Murray."Oct 22, 1898, Page 5". Chicago Tribune. October 22, 1898.
American rapper Lupe Fiasco attended and graduated from Thornton in 2000, listed as "Notable Alumni" on their alumni-run newsletter and website, The Thorntonites. He was a member of the school's chess club and scholastic bowl. He also worked as stagehand in theater productions."Lupe Fiasco: Two Sides to Everything". NPR. March 11, 2011. He said on the podcast, The Lupe Fuentes Experience, how he chose the name 'Lupe' because of his Colombian friend, Guadalupe, who was his partner in moving drama props. He recollected, "I was like, 'Yo, I need a fancier name for a rap name. So I'mma take your name.'""001 - Lupe Fiasco vs Lupe Fuentes". YouTube. August 4, 2021.
His chemistry teacher, Calvin Stark, recognized his potential early on, observing, "Wasalu was the type of reserved individual who would rarely put up his hand. So I would say, 'Okay, I'm going to call on him. I'll get him,' because I don't think he's paying attention. Every time I would call on him he would respond with the correct answer. I said to myself, 'There's something up with this kid. He's smart. Very smart.'" Despite the nerd label, Fiasco had many friends who were involved in street violence, including fringe gang member Bishop G, who he met one day at school. They created mixtapes and distributed them at school, gaining recognition through word of mouth.Smith, Bryan (July 17, 2007). "Lupe Fiasco, Word Star". Chicago Magazine. Fiasco mostly hung out with the Latino and Hispanic group, also having a Mexican girlfriend, and once revealed how he would've chosen in his junior year to join the Latin Kings."Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". Twitter. October 1, 2018. He mentioned in a tweet, "My first piece of music press was in the high school paper and was written by my at the time GF.""Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". Twitter. June 2, 2022. Another piece of trivia he shared, was how he would squint his eyes at school "because I thought it made me look cuter and today I still squint my eyes because I think it makes me look cuter.""Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". Twitter. March 5, 2018.
Fiasco decided during high school that he would not attend a post-secondary institution, explaining how his "key teachers agreed" and made sure he had a plan going forth, where he would "still be successful in life," choosing something in the arts."Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". Twitter. January 30, 2020. In 1999, he got his first deal, where he was in contact with Aftermath Records and rapping over the phone."Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". Twitter. February 10, 2019. If he wasn't a rapper, he believed he would work in theater as a stagehand."NiteCap 2/2: Lupe Fiasco: "People Die Behind What You Say"". YouTube. November 19, 2012.
== References ==
Category:High schools