First College Paper
I am not sure if I even remember what my first college paper was about, something to do with a communications class and a persuasive speech comes to mind. Next Wednesday, 23 high school students in the Step-Up Program will be turning in their first college paper. This is no joke! It is double spaced, typed (not font 14), 5-7 pages, and on the community issue of their choice. I had the students announce their topics last week and here are some that they came up with: gangs, teen pregnancy, and drugs. Could have seen those coming, right? But then there was another handful who said distribution of wealth, environmental impact on local parks, and molest. These are youth who are not only exploring the boundaries beyond their own lives but a more global society.
I share this with you because the students in the Step-Up Program are a part of a cohort. A cohort of Hoover High School students who often are the target of stereotypical labeling and negative media coverage. These students in Step-Up, all first generation college students, all bilingual and are learning how to expand their thought process and their views about their neighborhood. For this paper, their thought need to turn into actions. I am looking forward to hearing and reading more about their solutions and will share some with you next week!
Law and Social Work
Yes, it does exist! Current students enrolled at SDSU School of Social Work pursuing their Master’s in Social Work and Cal Western School of Law are out in local San Diego communities analyzing community issues and applying the social work perspective and current law practices to create new program ideas to address issues identified by their partnered agencies. Partnering agencies include:
- City Heights Farmers’ Market
- San Diego Gang Commission
- Employee Rights Center
- Immigration Justice Project
- Dreams for Change
- Village of Promise
Stay tuned for updates on their progress and highlights of their work in our Spring 2011 newsletter.
Every little bit helps
Next Wednesday, February 9th, the Consensus Organizing Center is partnering up with Rockin’ Baja Lobster Cantina in Old Town, San Diego for a ‘Hump Day’ (because it is a Wednesday, aka the middle of the week) fundraiser. Come bring your friends, family, and co workers to celebrate ‘Cheers to Education!’ with us and the Center continues to provide access to college programming, tuition, books, and scholarships for youth throughout San Diego. By celebrating education at Rockin’ Baja on February 9th the Center will receive a percentage of the total sales. No flyer required! Just come between 5:00pm and 10:00pm to 3890 Twiggs Street, San Diego, 92110. Thanks again for your support and hope to see you there!
Back to School
As another semester is upon us, there have been several adjustments at the Center. Every staff member is now teaching San Diego State University or Cal Western School of Law students. Congratulations to everyone and cheers to a productive semester! 
Resolution for 2011
Have you made yours yet, or are you sticking with the usual? The Center opens it doors this 2011 to many new beginnings. Jen Martinez is teaching SW 120 at SDSU in the School of Social Work, Drew is working on his second class of A.I.M for Law, and Jen Henry’s Step-Up Program starts on January 19th with several new additions to the staff. All program managers are committed to bringing a quality programming to our participants. It sounds like our resolution for 2011 is to stay the course, continue to evaluate our progress, and move forward. Wishing you a successful new year and continue to check back for updates!
Mini-Hibernation
For two weeks the public school system and CSU campuses close for the winter holidays. I wanted to write a final post for 2010 and let you know that our blog will continue in 2011! The Consensus Organizing Center also takes this time to rejuvenate and take time off to spend some free time; as our fellow social workers would say … some self-care. So please note that the office will be closed and our emails will have the ‘out of office’ response! We would like to take this time to wish you and your families a safe and restful break!
Happy Anniversary!
This fall marked our 10th program-anniversary with SDSU. I thought about the importance of the past ten years and found out the tenth traditional wedding anniversary is symbolized by tin (not the most flashy) and daffodils. While tin might not sound like a lot, it has a lot to say. Tin is durable and can stand the test of time. It also might accumulate dents, morph, and change shape, but at the end of the day, it is still tin. I can say this is true for the Consensus Organizing Center. I can only hope that Mike Eichler won’t mind that I am comparing the COC to tin, but we are durable as a non-profit, flexible with the needs of our community, and accommodating to our program participants, yet do not break.
Ten-year Tin
The Centers’ value truly worth is its weight in gold (we’d have to wait for the 50th anniversary for that!)
