Yuh Liew (YY)
TMC '12
Sociology.
Education Studies Minor
Gompers

I wanted to explore different areas of the education system, and I saw that this program had many various positions that I could do. I immediately chose to intern with the program so I could expand my horizons, not just as a tutor but as a school psychologist.

My most memorable experience while working with the students was when I sat in on an IEP meeting to observe. I saw that time and effort put into making the kid successful. I realized that it was through experiences like these that make me want to pursue a career in education.

I would definitely recommend this program to my friends. This is definitely an opportunity which can open your eyes to the lives of those that live in inner city San Diego. If you want something to take you out of your comfort zone into a place where you'll grow from your experiences as a intern/volunteer, take this opportunity!

Sandra Naji
Warren '10
Psychology
Lincoln

With this outreach program I get to directly work with the students. Because it is not a paper pushing job, I get to really experience what it is like to be a counselor. I meet with many students every day I am on site, but the most enjoyable and memorable times I have at Lincoln is when students come back into the office with questions on the subjects we have spoken about on our previous encounters. I really enjoy knowing that I got through to the kids, and sparked interest and curiosity on subjects they previously seemed not to care for.

I learned more successful methods of communicating with student and gained the satisfaction of helping these students become one step closer towards higher education, and a better future.

I highly recommend it. As interns, we have a lot of freedom working with the students. We really get to see what is required to be successful as part of an educational staff.

Nadia Moshtagh
ERC '10
Literatures in English Major
Preuss

I am very interested in Education, especially in regards to urban school and education reform. Charter schools are very interesting to me and I was very excited to be able to work with students at the one on campus, as well as getting UCSD course credit.

I was working with some AP Literature students at the Preuss School on their writing, and I came across a very talented writer. When I told her that her poetry stood out to me among the work of all three classes, she was very flattered, and said that nobody had ever encouraged her on her writing before. Though she liked English, she did not think she was good enough at it to pursue it in college. She told me that I made her day when I encouraged her to continue working on her writing, and that I was there to help her if she needed.

Every day I am gaining more experience and personal interaction in the realm of education, and seeing how I can truly have an impact on each student's life. It is giving me a taste of what a career in education will be like in my future.

I encourage anyone who is passionate about education or the subject they are studying to participate in this program. It is a valuable experience in learning about yourself as well as preparing you for a future in education or simply interacting with people.

Lucy Dang
Sixth'12
Psychology Sociocultural Anthropology,
EDS Minor
Preuss

Why did you choose to work with this outreach program?
It gives me an opportunity to work with students which is what I plan on doing in the future.

What is your most memorable experience when working with the students?
Having one on ones, explaining really important documents like FAFSA.

What did you gain from this outreach experience?
Jumping right into hands-on experience, and really appreciating that fact that I get to work with students that have a great desire to better themselves and go to college.

I would highly recommend this course to a friend because it provokes your mind to really think about education and how its progressing or not progressing. It shows that UCSD plays a vital role in helping students from under privileged areas to achieve bigger and greater goals, and for that I am proud to be an UCSD student.

Abbey Batino
Math,
Educational Studies Minor
Preuss

I chose to work with this program in order to gain experience with students in classroom settings.

So far, my most memorable experiences involve when the students have reached that comfortability with me, as a tutor, so that they ask questions and talk to me as a friend.

I've gained a lot of knowledge about certain students' way of learning. Most of the time the students in the classroom don't understand the methods the teachers uses, so as their tutor, I try to work with them individually to better understand their logic.

I would recommend this program to anyone interested in the field of education, whether it be teacher or counselor. The program exposes you to what goes on "behind the scenes" in education and interactions with the students as well.

Leonard Versoza
TMC '10
Physiology and Neuroscience
Preuss

I chose to work with CREATE because I wanted to get hands on experience with kids and explore the possibility of becoming a teacher. I was also interested in helping students with disadvantage backgrounds to get to college.

The most memorable experience with the students is just seeing them understand the material after I explain it to them. Also when they ask me about college. I know I wasn't thinking about college at 6th and 8th grade so to see them already curious about it is very exciting.

I have developed a different perspective on the education system. It's amazing to see all the work that is put in by teachers, volunteers, parents, staff and outreach programs to make the schools a productive learning environment. I've also gained invaluable experiences with kids, I can't even begin to explain how rewarding it feels to help teach kids.

I would definitely recommend this program to a friend. Professor Hernandez, Mariko, Evelyn and the schools are great to work with. The weekly class meetings are informative and fun to participate in. I love how there are only 10-15 people in the class instead of a normal UCSD class that has over 200 students. It allows everyone to get to know each other and also gives everyone the opportunity to discuss their unique experiences.

Janet Park
Muir '10
Psychology, Literatures in English Minor
Lincoln

I wanted to get experience counseling in a school environment and working with adolescents. I gained good firsthand experience working with students and a better understanding of how school counseling works through this experience.

A memorable experience that I had was when I was encouraging honor roll students to keep working harder and I saw that the encouraging words/praise were getting through to them. Even though it's important to encourage students who aren't doing so well to apply themselves, giving praise to students who are doing well is also important and it can give them additional motivation and confidence to keep at it.

I would definitely recommend this program to a friend. I learned a lot about how school and academic counseling works at a high school. The program yielded valuable hands-on experience working with students in an academic setting.

Sana Meghani
TMC '11
Political Science, Education Studies and Middle East Studies Minor
Lincoln

I choose to work with this outreach program because I want to get involved in the community and learn from professionals in the field of education. My most memorable experience was after talking to a young lady from Lincoln High School about her future aspirations and goals, she hugged me and said "Thank you. No one has ever really taken the time to ask what I want to do with my life."

I gained hands-on experience at a school site and it solidified my passion and interest for a career in the field of education. More importantly, it gave me the opportunity to make friendships and learn from my supervisors and the students that I worked with.

I would definitely recommend this program to a friend! Regardless of major or career goals, this program provides an opportunity for UCSD students to give back to the community and to inspire a few students along the way.

Traci McHugh
'10
Sociology
Lincoln

I chose to work with this outreach program because I was interested in working with high school students. Also, I felt this particular school would benefit more from my assistance.

My most memorable moments are encouraging students with praise and seeing the difference with their concentration and focus.

I gained a working knowledge of how to assist at risk youth in a classroom setting.

I believe that this program is a great way to get hands on experience in the field. The support from my ucsd professor and classroom teacher has helped to understand and grow in a new environment.

Shelly Buono
Intern & Tutor Coordinator
Gompers

I came to GPA as an Exercise & Nutritional Sciences teacher 5 years ago when the charter began. The second year of our charter I changed to working with our Chief of Staff and have been the UCSD liaison since then, which includes working with interns & tutors on campus.

I have the pleasure of orienting UCSD interns & tutors to their volunteer work on our campus. I let them know about our expectations for them, our school culture and how they can best work with our students. I follow up with their supervisors to see how they're doing and talk to interns & tutors as well to see if their experience is what they thought it would be. If there are problems, I work to see that they get resolved in a fashion that benefits the volunteer, the supervisor and our school.

Having a tutor tell me that they were now thinking about being a Math teacher because of the wonderful experience they had at our school and the fact that they want to be a part of closing the "Achievement Gap." Then watching that student go through the credentialing program, being an intern teacher on our campus and finally a full-fledged fabulous 8th grade Algebra teacher.

My work with CREATE has been top notch as far as the great interns that we receive from the TMC 198 internship program and the marvelous tutors that our Provost Intern recruits.

Patty D. Mendoza
Parent, Mentor, Intern & Tutor Coordinator
Preuss School

I was hired by The Preuss School UCSD in 2009. My previous experience working with the community and local organizations led me to working at Preuss.

As the tutor and intern coordinator at The Preuss School UCSD my job is to outreach for tutors, screen applications, conduct a background check on all applicants, conduct a volunteer orientation, and place tutors in the classrooms. I look for opportunities where UCSD students can intern at Preuss, where they can develop and strengthen professional skills.

My most memorable experience is seeing them interact in the classroom with students and helping them academically. Volunteering at Preuss is a rewarding experience because UCSD students have an opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of middle school and high school students.

Evelyn Lucio
Program Representative
UCSD-CREATE

In the summer of 2005, I joined Cecil Lytle (former provost of Thurgood Marshall College), Bud Mehan (Director of CREATE), and Rafael Hernandez (Director of EAOP at UCSD) with the conversion of Gompers Middle to Gompers Charter Middle School. The first year of Gompers Charter Middle School I was hired as an attendance and guidance assistant. As a guidance assistant I was able to support the school counselor as well as support students academically and socially. In addition, I was able to provide parents with resources available to them within the school and community. After two years of service at Gompers Charter Middle School, I entered the counseling program at the University of San Diego (USD) and obtained my Masters in Counseling and Pupil Personnel Credential. My fieldwork was completed at Lincoln High School. As a counseling intern I was able to build relationships with students struggling academically and provide insight to school and community programs that could support them. Upon receiving my Masters in counseling, the center of the arts at Lincoln High School, hired me as a substitute school counselor to specifically work with at risk students grades tenth through twelfth.

Currently, I am a program coordinator with Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment, and Teaching Excellence (CREATE). I work closely with the Thurgood Marshall Provost intern to recruit UCSD students to volunteer and intern at the three partnership schools: The Preuss School, Gompers Preparatory Academy (GPA) and Lincoln High School (LHS). I serve as a liaison between Lincoln High School and UCSD. My role is to provide UCSD students with the best experience possible at Lincoln High School. The best part of my job is seeing UCSD student step out of their comfort to give back to the community and impact the lives’ of underrepresented students. It is also extremely rewarding to see all the smiles of The Preuss, GPA, and LHS students as they interact with college students.

UCSD students are theoretically prepared to entire the work world yet lack hand on experience working within diverse communities. Our program provides UCSD student the opportunity to get their feet dirty and explore through hand on experience and practice what the work force holds.    

Serena Pariser
Language Arts teacher
Gompers

I love the program and so do the kids! We get so excited when another adult is in the classroom to help with the learning. Tutors and interns help make maximize the learning in our classroom. For example, tutors and interns have supported our students with leading a small group with instruction, 1-1 tutoring, participating in socratic seminars, reading conferences, participated in field trips, and form strong connections with the students 1-1. My classes always look forward to the days when the UCSD students will be in our class to help with the learning.

I was fortunate enough to work with Troy Holan, an intern, last year in our College Study group. The students became so connected to him and loved the vocabulary project he launched with our students. He started working with just a small group of students but soon was comfortable enough to launch a few vocabulary lessons in front of the class! When he left, my students spoke about him often and were very excited when they spotted him on UCSD campus while they were attending a field trip at the college! Not only did Troy connect with the kids academically, he left a positive lasting impression on the kids as a strong role model.

Jennie Long
Special Education Teacher
Lincoln

I teach Reading Development/READ 180 to students in Special Education who are below grade level in their reading skills.

Jennifer is my volunteer. She is a great help in my class because I have so many beginner readers and readers that are far below basic and she is an additional person that can provide the much needed 1:1 support that our students need. She is also an extra set of eyes to observe when students are struggling and/or are not on task. In addition, she is able to provide some social/emotional support when she assists students 1:1.

I don't have a most memorable experience, but I will say that Jennifer provides a positive outlook for our students being a student herself. In addition, she is a very sweet and kind person, which has a positive effect on our classroom atmosphere.

Dan Rupert
Electives teacher, Robotics Team coach
Preuss School

I have used volunteers when available in my classes, they are particularly helpful in providing one on one help to students who are struggling. When a student makes a positive personal connection with a mentor, the student will usually work harder and with more focus.

I have several UCSD students who come after school hours to work with students on our FIRST robotics team. One mentor enjoyed it so much she recruited a friend, and now I have two young women engineering students who are great role models for the girls on my team. I enjoy seeing the one on one interaction of a college student passing on basic engineering skills to the high school students (things like stripping wires, soldering, drilling holes accurately.)

Diana Martinez
Admissions/
Outreach Coordinator, English Language Learner Coordinator
Preuss School

Student Interns are a great help in the Admissions Department. They not only help with clerical support, but they help coordinate parent and student outreach and registration events, help with recruitment efforts and get experience with English Language Proficiency testing. Student interns are a very important part of Admissions as I am the only person in the department and the additional support is necessary and appreciated. Student Interns in Admissions many times have great ideas and get the chance to see those ideas in action.

My most memorable experience working with a UCSD intern was taking them out to a school site to present about The Preuss School. I asked the student intern to do a portion of the power point presentation in Spanish and English to a group of about 50 parents and students. Although she was a bit nervous when the school principal handed here the mic, she did a great job and got great hands on experience. She was excited and happy that she had that opportunity.

Tina Badiyan
ERC '11
Human Development, Psychology Minor
Gompers

My role at Gompers was an intern for the Family Services Dept. I held a study skills group once a week for 8th grades students below a 2.0 GPA, worked one-on-one with a student, assisted with student intakes, and conducted a follow-up report on a mentoring program held on campus.

I learned so much during my internship--from how the charter school system works, to ethics and codes, to all the services that a school supplies beyond academics. It brings me joy to see caring and amiable staff members who are concerned about student's personal lives and work with them to address emotional, family, personal and social issues in addition to academics. All these experiences and interactions have helped equipped me with the tools necessary to pursue a field in education, and have taught me what works and doesn't work in an academic setting. I highly recommend this program for those looking to get hands-on experience in a middle school setting; it was an eye-opening and empowering experience.

April Voong
ERC '12
Human Biology
Gompers

I wanted to experience working in a middle school/high school setting from behind the scenes. Often times, students are familiar with high school settings from a student's point of view and are not aware of all the background work and effort counselors, teachers, and school staff put into making the school run smoothly.

My most memorable internship experience through this outreach program was getting to know the students. I enjoyed developing relationships and communication with students from all different backgrounds. It is interesting to witness students' view of high school after I have graduated and become a college student.

Through this outreach experience, I have gained a sense of what it is like to work as a counselor. Being a counselor is much more work than I expected. I also have gained memories and relationships that I will remember. The students also gave me an understanding of what it was like to be from a underrepresented community. Overall, I learned to become an effective mentor.

I would definitely recommend this program to a friend, especially if she is looking into becoming a counselor or mentor. I would explain to her that this program allows first-hand experience to interacting with high school and middle school students. This program is a program that values communication.

Jasmine Martinez
ERC '10
International Studies: Political Science; Sociology
Lincoln

I chose to work with this program because I love to share the information I have obtained through education in school, work, and travel experiences with todays youth in hopes of inspiring them to achieve a higher education!

My most memorable experience at LHS is returning to LHS after being absent for a week and greeted with several "we missed you Miss Jasmine" by the students and the teacher. I was told by the teacher and t.a. that the students were consistently asking for me the week I was absent and reported that I "push" them to do their work. It was very rewarding to know that even though it seems that the students may not be listening at times, they actually are.

What I gained from this outreach program was a rewarding learning experience where I know that the students appreciate my presence in the classroom. I have also learned a lot about what it takes to become an influential educator and role model.

I would definitely recommend this program to everybody! The experience I had with students at LHS has not only reassured me of wanting to become an educator, but allowed me to value the importance of education. Knowing that I am making a difference in somebody's life -small or big- is the most rewarding experience anybody can have. I really enjoyed my experience at LHS and even though my internship is over, I continue to volunteer there and have committed to remain there until I graduate in June, 2010!

Aria Fazlinejad
Warren '10
Physics, emphasis on Biophysics
Pruess

I tutored for Precalculus, Calculus, and 8th grade Algebra in the field of mathematics. I would help students with in-class and homework problems. I also served as a mentor to the students, answering questions and giving advice about the continuation of their education and life as a college student.

I love mathematics and I believe it is essential for students to have a proficiency in this field when they graduate high school. In my opinion mathematics is the mother of all sciences making it an necessity for living a successful life.

I initially thought that I would only serve as a tutor but I was very happy to have students ask me about life after high school. These students were all very goal oriented and I enjoyed being able to guide them in making decisions on reaching their dreams.

The opportunity to act as a role model for such great students was the best experience I could have ever imagined. It has helped me also in my ways of thinking. These students are all young and they are accomplishing so much given their financial condition, to be a part of their successful lives is great.

Definitely become a mentor for at least one quarter. You get credit for it and the best part is you get to play an important part in these students’ road to great achievements.

Tiffany
Vien-Sanchez
ERC '11
Psychology
Lincoln

I thought being an intern with the School Psychologist at the Science & Engineering Center, Lincoln would provide a good opportunity to provide service to our local community while gaining field experience and insight into a potential career and the education system.

What I enjoyed most about this opportunity were the relationships I built with the staff and especially the students I mentored. Watching their progress through the months and being able to help and encourage them was an amazing and rewarding experience.

I've definitely gained a better understanding on the special education system in our local schools and how much support and effort goes into making them work. I also am more acquainted with the responsibilities of psychologists in an education setting.