Bellwood Mayor Andre Harvey attributes Triton College with much of his success. As the first African American mayor of Bellwood and the village’s first African American firefighter and fire chief, he says Triton equipped him with the skills that shaped his distinguished career.

“When I was in high school, I didn’t like school,” explained Mayor Harvey, who graduated from Proviso West High School in 1981. “Without much of a direction after high school, I joined the Army. I returned home in 1985, and I didn’t know where to turn.”

Inspired by his father, a Triton graduate from the 1970s, Mayor Harvey decided to take a business class at Triton. After some soul-searching, Mayor Harvey became a firefighter in 1988. read more...