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Photo by REED HUTCHINSON
Student Affairs Officer Brian Venner helps out high schooler Bijoux Perkins, who's working in the Registrar's Office this summer.
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Short-term employment,
long-term gains for youth
BY KEVIN GARBEE
UCLA Today
Bijoux Perkins joined the staff of the UCLA Registrar’s Office on July 10, but she doesn’t plan on staying long. She has more important things to focus on — like starting high school.
Perkins is one of 90 students throughout Los Angeles who are on campus as participants in the UCLA Summer Youth Employment Program. The program is part of HIRE LA’s Youth 2006, a city initiative aimed at creating jobs and educational opportunities for at-risk Los Angeles youth. Many of the students, ages 14 to 20, are working their very first jobs in more than 50 campus departments.
While these students are at UCLA to earn a paycheck, they are also developing valuable office and communications skills that can be applied to the workforce and the classroom. Some students, like Perkins, are acquiring more than just basic skills.
“I’ve gained so much by learning about the experiences of my co-workers and fellow students” said Perkins, 14, who is filing and working on a special project this summer. “It motivates me to become a better person.”
“Students enjoy being part of this community,” said Pam Schachter, assistant program director for UCLA’s Community Based Learning (CBL), which manages the job program in conjunction with Government and Community Relations. “They go back to their schools and talk about their experiences. This is why each summer more students want to work here.”
On Fridays, students leave their work to attend enrichment seminars such as College Day, where they learned about the college experience and the role higher education can play in their own futures. Many of this year’s participants would be among the first in their families to attend college. “When the students arrive on campus, they have little interest in a college education,” said CBL program coordinator Carlos Chilin, “but after they have been part of the UCLA community, their interest is much higher.”
Students Marcella Hernandez, Ashlee Gabb and Crystal Moore, who are assisting with recruitment at the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center, agreed that College Day was worthwhile. “College seems like a real possibility,” said Gabb, who wants to attend medical school, as does Hernandez. “It was a great experience,” Hernandez said of the seminar. Said Moore, who hopes to study business: “It helped to hear the stories of other students who overcame obstacles to continue their education.”
While UCLA has hosted a summer youth program for many years, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently revamped the city’s program and hopes to double the number of summer jobs from around 5,000 to 10,000 by 2010. Clearly, the CBL staff embraces this challenge. Participation is up from less than 70 students a year ago. And 20 students who participated in the program last year decided to return this summer.
The CBL staffers are quick to point out who deserves credit for the program’s success.
“The city and county provide us with funding for student salaries,” said CBL Director Mary Keipp, “but we rely on the generosity of the campus community to make this program work. It’s about teamwork and collaboration, and the students experience this firsthand.”
“That’s what’s so special about this place,” participant Perkins said. “Everyone is so helpful. You don’t have to go it alone.” And that is perhaps the best lesson of all.
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