University
Celebrating 15 Years of Helping Others
- Political science major Jazmin Vidana
- Photo/Katharine A. Diaz
By Eddie North-Hager and Katharine A. Diaz on October 1, 2009 7:27 AM
Fifteen years ago, USC President Steven B. Sample had a vision.
He wanted the staff and faculty of the university to join him in taking responsibility for improving the neighborhoods surrounding the University Park and Health Sciences campuses.
Employees have responded to this long-term challenge by raising more than $10 million in donations to the Good Neighbors Campaign, which has given more than 365 grants to community organizations partnering with USC.
This year’s theme - “Celebrating 15 Years of Helping Children Live Their Dreams”- could not be more appropriate, as some of the youngsters who were aided by the programs now are giving back themselves.
Jazmin Vidana, a 19-year-old USC sophomore and political science major who was tutored by USC students when she was in the second grade, is now a tutor for USC ReadersPlus, the program that put her on the pathway to college.
“You’re changing a kid’s life basically; you are changing USC students’ lives,” Vidana said.
Vidana remembers struggling at Weemes Elementary School until she got a personal tutor through ReadersPlus, a one-on-one, after-school program that has helped students for more than a decade with funding from the Good Neighbors Campaign.
“At home, I didn’t have any help because my parents only spoke Spanish so they couldn’t really help me with my homework,” Vidana said. “I just couldn’t wait until school ended so I could be in the after-school program. My grades improved and I started winning read-a-thons.”
The program taught Vidana about giving.
“I knew that when I got accepted into USC, I was going to apply to USC ReadersPlus,” Vidana said. “I didn’t even think twice about it.”
Last year the USC Good Neighbors Campaign raised a record $1.1 million from faculty, staff, students and friends. The goal for this month’s campaign is to raise $1.2 million and increase the participation rate among USC employees from 42 to 50 percent.
That will help create more happy endings for people like Juan Hernandez, a senior at West Adams Preparatory High School. He started playing soccer and basketball when he was 7 as part of Kids in Sports, which offers parent-led, after-school and weekend programs for more than 1,000 low-income boys and girls.
It turns out he had the ability to be a coach himself, which he does today with Kids in Sports.
“I feel like a dad with all those kids because some kids can come in and don’t know how to play, and I have to teach them from scratch,” Hernández said.
Sports helped Hernandez to stay interested in school, accept challenges and learn more about himself. As a coach, he wants to pass on life lessons about teamwork and helping others as well as how to play ball.
“It was my [soccer] coach who told me that he already knew I had the talent to play,” Hernandez said. “He said just keep on playing so when you grow older, you can achieve in school and stay in sports.”
TAGS: community programs
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The Wall Street Journal highlighted the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
KPCC-FM reported that this fall USC will offer Persian language courses for the first time. A $250,000 grant from the Farhang Foundation helped to establish the program. Bruce Zuckerman of the USC Dornsife College said he has many students interested in the Persian language, culture and region. “The Iranian region is one that has great impact on our lives today and has had great impact going back into ancient times,” he said. The story noted that USC and the Farhang Foundation hope to raise more money to create an Iranian studies minor. Payvand also featured the new courses.
American Songwriter ran a Q&A with Christopher Sampson of the USC Thornton School about the school’s Popular Music program, which Sampson founded. He noted that the program has been available as a major in Songwriting since 2009, and has incorporated a diverse range of musical genres. “We have now established a consistent track record of students having professional success to know that the program gets results,” Sampson said. He also highlighted the achievements of Songwriting faculty members Lamont Dozier, Andrea Stolpe and David Poe of the Thornton School.
The Economist featured research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that short periods of fasting could help cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy, and may even make treatment more effective. The Globe and Mail (Canada) reported that cancerous tumors are essentially energy hogs. “They need to burn lots of energy just to stay alive,” Longo said. The study was also covered by Irish Independent (Ireland), Magyar Tavirati Iroda (Hungary), Anadolu Ajansi (Turkey), Son Haber (Netherlands), Vietnam+ (Vietnam), Turkish Radio and Television (Turkey) and Romania Libera (Romania).
L.A. Weekly featured research by USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, which has developed video games based around physical movement for people recovering from strokes or other injuries. The games develop strength in specific body parts. Traditional video games weren’t right for these patients, said the institute’s Belinda Lange. “Often, the fun parts of the game would only be unlocked after a series of other levels, which our patients often couldn’t achieve,” she said. The games are now being tested with physical therapists in three major clinics.
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