csudh 3rd annual community engagement symposium

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTSYMPOSIUM

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016Loker Student Union Ballroom

C A L I F O R N I A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y , D O M I N G U E Z H I L L S

5 0 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

Watts RebellionCOMMEMORATION HONORING HISTORY, TRANSFORMING OUR COMMUNITY.

MARCH 21, 2016 | COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM 1

Program 11:00 Opening Remarks and Introduction of the President

Dr. Rod Hay Dean, College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences 11:15 Welcome

Dr. Willie J. Hagan President, CSU Dominguez Hills 11:30 Center for Service Learning, Internships & Civic Engagement

Community Engagement Awards

Outstanding Community Advocate Award Brenda Riddick Past Director, Mervyn M. Dymally African American Political & Economic Institute, CSU Dominguez Hills Community Hero Award Dr. Vivian Price

Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Coordinator, Labor Studies, CSU Dominguez Hills

Outstanding Community Partner Awards Court Observer Program John Jones III - East Side Riders Bike Club Carson Boys and Girls Club 12:00 Keynote Address

Learning from a Year of Remembering the Watts Rebellion: Connecting Campus and Community

Dr. Vivian Price Associate Professor, Labor Studies, CSU Dominguez Hills Ms. Ellie Zenhari Associate Professor, Art & Design, CSU Dominguez Hills

With special guests: Mr. Tim Watkins, president and CEO, Watts Labor Community Action Committee and Ms. Monika Shankar, land use and health coordinator, Physicians for Social Responsibility

12:30 Presentation

PEARL: How Reflection Amplifies the Learning in Service Learning Dr. Kirti Celly Professor, Management & Marketing Department, CSU Dominguez Hills

Soles4Souls: Wearing Out Poverty One Pair of Shoes at a Time Dr. Sam Wiley Emeritus Professor, Physics, CSU Dominguez Hills


Program (Continued)

1:00 Presentation of Student Work

2:45 Closing Remarks

Ms. Cheryl McKnight Director, Center for Service Learning, Internships, & Civic Engagement, The American Indian Institute


Special Acknowledgement & Guests

President Willie J. Hagan is the 10th president of California State University, Dominguez Hills. A results-oriented administrator with a collaborative work style and a proven ability to motivate and lead within the academic community, Dr. Hagan has been successful in refocusing and reinvigorating campus-wide efforts on improving student academic success. Additionally Dr. Hagan identified and reallocated university resources to support strategic university priorities, including faculty and staff hiring, technology and academic equipment, and student support services. Prior to joining CSU Dominguez Hills, he served in a number of administrative capacities at CSU Fullerton during 16 years with the university, including interim president in his last year. Dr. Hagan holds a doctorate in psychology from the

University of Connecticut and a Master of Fine Arts from UCLA.

Dr. Rod Hay is dean for the College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences at California State University, Dominguez Hills. The college, which includes the departments of anthropology, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences and geography, mathematics, physics, political science, psychology, and sociology, teaches over 3,500 full-time-equivalent students per year and has an annual budget of approximately $11.5 million. Dr. Hay also serves as executive director of the Center for Urban Environmental Research, which was established by a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and provides an umbrella for advancing environmental sciences on campus. Prior to being dean, Dr. Hay was on faculty in the Department of Earth Sciences

and Geography. As a geographer he has been a principal and co-principal investigator to over $6 million in grants, including the NASA Regional Earth Science Application Center and the National Science Foundation Environmental Change in Southern Africa grant.

Dr. Vivian Price is a filmmaker, professor, and activist in labor and community issues. She received her doctorate in politics and society from UC Irvine, and is presently associate professor in interdisciplinary studies and coordinator of labor studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Selected publications she has written include “Support for Women’s Employment in the Building Trades: Affirmative Action and the Century Freeway in Los Angeles,” a chapter in Women in Construction, Netherlands (Reed Publications, 2004); “Headloads: the Technologizing of Labor and Gendering of Work," a chapter in Gender and Globalization in Asia (University of Hawaii Press, 2008); and an article co-authored with students, “Service-Learning with Students of Color, Working Class and

Immigrant Students: Expanding a Popular Pedagogical Model,” (Currents in Teaching & Learning, 7(1), 2014). Her films include “Hammering It Out” (2000), “Transnational Tradeswomen” (2006), and “Harvest of Loneliness (2010)” documenting the historic Bracero Program. In spring 2015, Dr. Price and her students co-produced a short film, “Mapping Connections, Watts and CSU Dominguez Hills.”

Ms. Ellie Zenhari is assistant professor of art and design at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Her most recent solo exhibition, “Watts Then and Now,” took nearly nine months and extensive research to develop. Comprising 48 photographs, the exhibit showcased the contemporary and multi-layered community of Watts and was on display at University Library Cultural Art Center in fall 2015. In August 2015, a mirror exhibition was showcased in a curated group show at Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) gallery. This exhibition also created a deep connection between the university and WLCAC that was further enhanced with a major exhibit of student work, “Watts Now: A Student Exhibition,” which Ms. Zenhari co-curated and organized for both the University

Library Cultural Art Center and the WLCAC gallery. Ms. Zenhari’s work has been exhibited at shows in Southern California, Miami and Paris. She earned her MFA in interactive media & game development from Savannah College of Art and Design, with an emphasis in interactive design and new media.


Dr. Kirti Sawhney Celly earned her doctorate in business administration at the University of Southern California, following a master’s degree in finance and a bachelor’s in economics, both from Bombay University. As professor of management and marketing at California State University, Dominguez Hills, she has worked with student teams that consult with a range of companies in Asia, Europe, and the U.S.A. She teaches and serves as course coordinator for the principles of marketing course and the capstone strategic marketing management seminar, and also teaches the capstone seminar in strategic management, international marketing, distribution strategies, consumer behavior and marketing research. Her research has been published in the Journal of Marketing

Research, Journal of International Business Studies, Marketing Education Review, Journal of Business Research, and the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing.

Dr. Sam Wiley is professor emeritus of physics at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He joined the university as a founding faculty of the Department of Physics in 1968. He also served as dean of the then-School of Science, Mathematics and Technology in the 1980s. After his retirement in 1997, he returned to the campus from 2007 to 2008 to serve as interim provost and vice president of academic affairs. He received his doctorate in physics from The Ohio State University and his bachelor’s degree in math and physics from Capital University.

Ms. Cheryl McKnight earned her master’s degree in English and bachelor’s in anthropology from California State University, Dominguez Hills, where she currently serves as director of the Center for Service Learning, Internships, & Civic Engagement (SLICE). The Center houses two AmeriCorps Program, JusticeCorps and Jumpstart for Young Children, as well as the American Indian Institute. She and her dedicated team welcome everyone to see for themselves the wonderful work of the students, faculty, and staff supporting our community. Ms. McKnight has been a life-long activist for community service and civic engagement, and in 2015, she was honored by California Campus Compact with its Richard E. Cone Award for Excellence and Leadership in Cultivating

Community Partnerships in Higher Education.


Abstracts

1. H.O.P.E.: Homeless Outreach Promoting Empathy Presenter: Ramneek Kaur (President), Martha Rodriguez, Cheyenne Luna, Loan Rodriguez, and Darlyng Granados Advisor: Dr. Sophia Momand

H.O.P.E. aims to bring attention to the homeless in the community and pave the way for students and or volunteers to interact with the homeless to help provide medical attention and emphasize the importance of hygiene among the homeless community.

2. JusticeCorps Program Presenter: Tori Correia

JusticeCorps is an AmeriCorps national service program operated through the Los Angeles Superior Court that recruits and trains college students to serve and provide assistance to self-represented litigants with their legal paperwork in family law, housing law and small claims law.

Members have the opportunity to network with the legal community, such as judges, attorneys and court administrators, and learn more about the law and the courts. JusticeCorps members make a commitment to national service by offering language assistance to customers when necessary, and providing information and referrals. After completion of the program, JusticeCorps members receive an educational award/stipend that can be used for up to seven years.

The JusticeCorps program is a great opportunity for college students to learn about the court system, work with a diverse group of people, and gain professional skills. It also helps them to build leadership skills, communication skills and customer service skills.

3. SoCal RocMock Interviews Presenter: Daisy Franco, Natalie Liberman, and Katrina Rhode Mentor: Dr. Thomas Norman

Nearly every manager will interview candidates for a position over a career. The skill of the interviewer affects the validity of the information collected during an interview, yet interview training is typically very limited and lacking an experiential component. For university students training for careers in human resources, practicing these skills in a mock interview setting is an effective way to improve these skills and give them an edge in landing a job as an HR professional.

This presentation describes a 5-year service learning partnership that teaches DH students how to conduct a structured interview with behaviorally based questions by providing a group of job seekers at a local occupational training center with multiple practice interviews. After each interview, the DH student provides feedback to the job seeker, completes a self-assessment, and at least once per event receives feedback from a professional experienced with interviewing. Students from both groups report great satisfaction with the program in terms of preparing them to find a better job and developing a future manager.


4. Human Services Student Association – Veterans Job Fair Presenters: Roldan Galvez and Michelle Padilla Mentor: Carlon L. Manuel

The Human Services Student Association (HUSSA) collaborated with Charlotte Brimmer and the City of Carson to have ten (10) students volunteer for the Second Annual Veterans Job Fair. Over 600 people came to the event which went from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm on January 3, 2016. Over 50 people were hired right on the spot. The volunteers helped with guiding both vendors and job seekers to their respective entrances; distribute surveys, as well as assisting the hosts.

5. Jumpstart: Team Venus Doing Circle Time Presenters: Jasmin Romero, Alex Morales, Gabby Gallegos, Nancy Cardenas, Shantal Orea, and Brenda Zaldana Mentor: Jessica Ramirez, Miami Gelvezon-Gatpandan, and Sergio Pineda

Team Venus is one of seven teams serving in the Jumpstart program this year. To help children develop language and literacy skills, Jumpstart teams deliver a session plan each week focusing on specific domains and skills. A critical element of the session plan is circle time which consists of educational games, singing, and poetry. This elements focuses on phonological awareness, book and print knowledge, and oral language through the use of poetry, songs, and games. To help enhance this session element, our team focused on supplemental material creation. As a result, our team was able to accommodate the diverse learning needs of students.

6. Human Trafficking Survivors Foundation: Raising Awareness Presenter: Jodi Aguilar

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The United Nations estimates that 27 to 30 million individuals are currently caught in the global slave trade industry. According to United States Department of State data, an estimated 600,000 to 820,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 70 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. The data also illustrates that the majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. Some of the largest trafficking areas are in California including San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County.

Virginia Isaias created the Foundation for Survivors of Human Trafficking (FSTH), a small non-profit organization located in Santa Ana, after she and her infant daughter escaped from forced slavery and prostitution. Virginia works tirelessly to help prevent domestic violence and human trafficking and to help survivors restore their full dignity and reintegrate into society. Sadly, demand for services overwhelms their limited resources and currently runs solely on donations and the support from limited volunteers.

Our volunteer team worked with FSTH during the month of January to expand their infrastructure and capacity so that they could bring hope and healing to more women and children. In addition to refurbishing existing office space, we helped raise funds so that FSTH can purchase a residential facility to provide sanctuary and rehabilitation to victims.


7. City of Compton and its Community Resources Presenters: Michelle Menjivar, Aleandra Regla, Soura Peniche, Starr Hart, Raquel Cortez, and Asia Watkins Mentor: Tri Li

Our project will be showcasing Compton's inner communities that surround our Jumpstart sites and the many resources accessible to the community.

8. Pathways to Learning: Mentoring Native Americans for GED Certification Presenters: Suzette Mitchel, Karla Robles, and Crystal Yanez Mentor: Cheryl McKnight

Native Americans have the greatest disparities in education and employment than any other ethnicity in the United States. Only 50 percent of the clients in the American Indian Changing Spirits program have their high school diplomas or General Education Diplomas. Pathways to Learning mentors Native participants toward their GED certification and helps enroll them in higher education institutes.

9. Chemistry Presenters: Samuel Seto and Myra Munoz Mentor: Dr. Kenneth Rodriguez

This poster summarizes activities of chemistry students presenting chemistry demonstrations to youth to encourage enrollment in STEM majors.

10. Educating Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Presenters: Norma A. Maciel, Sandra Woods-Crockett, Diana Blanco, and Tre"Nise Mentor: Tri Li

Compton Unified School District is overpopulated with special education students. Children with alcohol syndrome are one of the major behavioral and educational challenges that the district is struggling with.

11. A Place Called South Central Presenters: Stephany Najarro, Eliza Castaneda, Citlalli Gonzalez, and Kelly Alcala

The group project will consist of a video of an agency in South Central called A Place Called Home. The intern coordinator of the agency will talk briefly about the agency, the community it serves, and its goals. Throughout the video, our group will also take the audience into the community of South Central. Our goal is to give our audience a picture of what type of population walks and lives in the streets of South Central, what types of services there are, and what the community lacks or has improved on.


12. Latino Student Business Association Community Service Participation Presenter: LSBA members

The Latino Student Business Association (LSBA) is a non-profit organization that provides opportunities for members to grow professionally, personally, and academically, through education, leadership, and organizational support. LBSA supports its purpose by providing professional workshops and networking opportunities designed to enhance business skills, foster self-improvement, and promote involvement in the community as individuals and as an organization.

Since its establishment in 1998, LSBA has maintained being active within the fields of networking, professionalism, and especially community service. Volunteering for community service is something LSBA holds very dearly to its roots and overall representation.

The following are just a few out of many community service events LSBA took part in since summer 2015 up until now, and will continue to do so: 1. One Piece at a Time beach cleanup 2. Compton Initiative 3. Special Olympics 4. Career Fair, Grad Fair, Feria De Univision 5. Los Angeles Regional Food Bank 6. Gobble Gobble Give 7. LA on Cloud9.

The best gift a person can donate is their time. For that reason, members and alumni from the Latino Student Business Association at California State University, Dominguez Hills will continue to volunteer at community services events for years to come.

13. Jumpstart: Team Mercury – "It's Center Time" Presenters: Alejandra Regla-Vargas, Claudia Casillas, Esmeralda Vidovich, Julie Evans, Karen Rodriguez, Lidia Castillo Flores, and Sonia Peniche Mentor: Jessica Ramirez

Team Mercury is one out of seven teams in this year's Jumpstart for Young Children Americorps program. Jumpstart is a non-profit organization that has partner up with preschools in low-income neighborhoods to prepared preschool children succeed in kindergarten. Jumpstart focuses on three domains, which are oral language, books and print knowledge, and phonological awareness.

Throughout the day of the session implementation, Team Mercury provides different center activities for the children. During center time, there is a total of six centers which are Let's Find Out About It, writing, books, dramatic play, science or art, and puzzles and manipulative. Each center focuses on the three domains and its skills to provide a purpose that the child will develop throughout the different centers. Overall, the six centers allow the preschool children to experiment hands on activities.

14. Recycling at CSUDH Presenter: Jose Robledo

Facilities Services manages the collection of recyclable items on the Dominguez Hills campus. We encourage the campus community to actively participate and support the recycling activities on our campus. Recycling containers are provided to faculty, staff, students, and visitors throughout the campus.


15. CSUDH Jumpstart: Learning Literacy Skills While Having Fun Presenter: Elyse Casillas, Jasmine Ruiz, Ivonne Curiel, Karina Magana, and Jessica Casillas Mentors: Jessica Ramirez, Miami Gelvezon-Gatpandan, and Sergio Pineda

The purpose of the Jumpstart program is to serve pre-school children in low income areas, by helping them develop the language and literacy skills they need to be ready for kindergarten.

Team Mars is one of seven representative teams from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills. We perform various interactive activities with the children that are intended to increase their emergent literacy skills. Center time gives team members an opportunity to increase the children's development in a fun way! Dramatic play involves introducing new vocabulary words by interacting with the children and creating numerous interactive scenarios for them. Print knowledge and phonological awareness skills are developed by playing matching letter games, creating books and solving letter and word puzzles.

The reading center is intended to not only make reading an enjoyable activity, but also teach them about types of texts, themes and characters, to name a few. All of these activities provide a foundation to further these children's language and literacy skills and most importantly prepare these awesome kids for a future of learning!

16. Long Beach Community Mapping, and PATH Presenter: Erika Williams, Sandra Mendez, Vanesa Lopez, and Edgar Fajerdo

This project tells of the HUS391 community mapping project incorporating the internship place, PATH Ventures. This will be an explanation and presentation of experience at PATH, as well as the impact the organization has had so far in the community.

17. Team Cassiopeia: Welcome to Reading Presenters: Andrea Huerta, Nicole De Leon, Jazmin Romero, Alexis Bellos, and Terri Worsham Mentor: Jessica Ramirez

Team Cassiopeia will be giving a description of some parts of Jumpstart lesson plan. The focus will be Welcome and Reading. We will also present what parents think about Jumpstart. Lastly, we will present the opinion of students that are part of Jumpstart and how it benefits them.

18. Community Asset Mapping Project, Mona House Head Start Presenters: Sandro Fuentes, Luz Galvez, and Angie Santos

Our team will be conducting a community asset mapping project that is revolved around the Mona House Head Start program, located in the City of Compton. Our team will be focusing on various geographic details such as demographics, infrastructures and deficiencies around the location. We are attempting to tell a story of the community surrounding one of our internship sites, to take our field experience to another level. This will provide a deeper understanding of the context in which our internship site is located, and how it may affect the organization.

19. CSUDH Day of Service 2015 – Commemorating the Watts Rebellion Presenters: Sergio Pineda, Miami Gelvezon-Gatpandan, Xavier Pineda, and John Tamura

Students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members come together to create a beautiful environment in the Watts community.


20. Mass Reduction Plan (MRP) 455 Presenter: JoAnn Aragon Valdivia

More than one third of U.S adults are obese. Obesity can gravely affect a person’s health if measures aren’t taken to lose weight. CSUDH’s Dr. Sophia Momand wanted to develop a program to help homeless and low-income individuals lose weight and keep it off, even when they didn’t have many resources to rely on to do so. This program, referred to as the Mass Reduction Plan (MRP) 455, is a healthy eating lifestyle that can help a person lose weight and keep it off by following basic exercise and nutrition guidelines.

21. Culture through Body: An Ethnographic Exploration of a Classical Cambodian Dance Studio Presenters: Brenda Ramirez, Leah Sanchez, and Luis Villanueva Mentor: Dr. Sue Needham

This ethnographic project explores the social, cultural, and religious functions of a classical Cambodian dance studio in Long Beach, California with a focus on the transmission of knowledge between instructors and students. In particular, this project analyzes 1) the method of teaching, which involves a combination of molding, modeling, and personal experiences and 2) the roles and responsibilities of students, parents, and instructors in preserving cultural heritage and reintegrating dancers into the program as teachers. This work was completed through several months of observation, and ethnographic interviews to understand dancer’s experiences and meanings and to correct researcher assumptions. Preliminary findings suggest that while American societal expectations influence the activities and structure of the studio, a commitment to preserving and celebrating cultural knowledge is seen transnationally between Cambodia and the United States.

22. CSU Workplace Environment Survey Presenter: Natalie Liberman Mentor: Dr. Thomas Norman

Almost all employees have witnessed workplace aggression one time or another in their careers. According to research, this type of interpersonal aggression has a negative ripple effect on organizations; the aggression begins with a targeted victim and can spread to employees who witness the act directly or indirectly. As a result, work engagement can decrease in both these observing and non-observing group members.

This presentation will discuss how to empirically test this research in a university setting using a workplace environment survey. Forty-five thousand four hundred and sixty (45,460) faculty and staff who work in the California State University system will have an option to complete an online survey sent to them through their university work email. Participation is voluntary, and participants are ensured confidentiality. Participants will complete a questionnaire that measures the level of aggression in their workplace (specific CSU campus) in regards to witnessing. First, participants will be asked if in the past two years they have witnessed certain aspects of workplace aggression (i.e. angry behaviors, facial expression and tone of voice) from people in different job positions (i.e. deans, supervisors or staff), and who the targets were. Second, participants will be asked how many times the incident happened, their response to witnessing the behavior, and if they reported it. There is also a written portion of the survey that asks participants to describe any relevant details pertaining to the incident(s) as well as any suggestions for addressing workplace aggression on campus.

The information gathered from the survey can be used to take preliminary steps towards addressing the issue of workplace aggression on all 23 CSU campuses.


23. Service-Learning in the North American Indian Course (ANT 330): Organizing and Participating in the CSUDH Pow Wow Presenters: Jonathan Adams, Jessica Calderon, Ashley Chacon, Anthony Chipana, Gabriela Corona, Sandra Diaz, Gary Garcia, Nora Gonzalez, Jesus Labrada Medina, Jace Quinn, Brenda Ramirez, Kevin Roman, Leah Sanchez, Sean Sweeney, Christopher Thomas, Lizbeth Vazquez-Ruiz, Nicole Zepsa, and Joshua Zuniga Mentor: Dr. Janine Gasco

This poster summarizes the service-learning experience of the students in the North American Indians course, Anthropology 330. The students in the course help to organize the CSUDH Pow Wow, which involves planning and publicizing the Pow Wow as well as participating in the Pow Wow itself. Our poster discusses our activities as well as how these activities help us to better understand the importance of the Pow Wow to the Indian community.

24. American Indian Changing Spirits Presenter: Francisco Checkcinco Mentor: Raul Garcia and Cheryl McKnight

Changing Spirits Recovery Program is a social model, community-based 180-day residential program targeting Native American men who have a desire to recover from alcohol or drug addiction. Changing Spirits Recovery Program is a non-profit program that does not discriminate or deny services based on race, ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or the ability to pay. Changing Spirits is a dynamic culturally relevant alcohol and drug program that participates in outside cultural and community events.

25. Inspire the Future Presenter: Eros Cubias and Victor Castillo

The mission of this project is to inform high school students from Animo Watts Charter High School about higher education and the organization members' college experience. The organization want to be able to inspire high school students and provide them with the benefits of pursuing higher education. Moreover, there will be an open forum in which the students will be able to ask any questions about university life.

26. Serving by Preserving: The CSUDH Archives and Its Many Communities Presenters: Greg Williams and Tom Philo

We will show how the archives serves communities by preserving their history, and educating others to the story of the campus, the CSU, and the many communities around us. We will show photos of our work, our exhibits, and evidence of our presence in and around the library.


27. The Re-Adjustments to Civilian Life: American Ex-veterans and Their University Experiences Presenters: Albert Martinez, Glen Pena, and Carmen McClain

In recent decades, the U.S. has been involved in many conflicts around the world. Politics aside, research shows that for America’s veterans, their re-adjustments to civilian life is difficult. Current literature tend to focus on the negatives such as PTSD, criminality, and other problems faced by veterans (Sumpson, et al, 2012; Taft, et al, 2012; Hanley, et al, 2013; Englebrecht, 2012; White, Mulvey, Fox, & Choate, 20012; Greenberg & Rosenheck, 2012). Indeed, their needs are vast and the nation’s top veteran service providers (such as the VA) struggle with huge backlogs and difficulties. Social work, along with other helping professions, are starting to respond to these needs by creating service credentialing programs specific to helping veterans (USC Social Work, 2014). However, there is paucity of research on this population regarding more positive aspects such as their university experiences post-deployment.

The research presents the findings on the experiences of ex-veterans on university campuses. Findings indicate that 30% of veterans have bachelor degrees (Cate, 2014), and of those attending universities, most are adjusting well to the challenges of being a student and are completing their course of study. Although university campuses can do more to support veterans, many are trying to meet their needs by establishing a veteran center which offers camaraderie, support, and academic assistance. Veterans report their experiences with these centers and their services, which could be used as models for best practices with this population.

28. East Side Riders Bike Club Presenter: John Jones III

Ten years ago, no one rode a bike through Watts—or even came to Watts, according to local John Jones III. But a lot has changed in the South Los Angeles neighborhood since then, thanks in large part to the bicycle club Jones and his family started in 2008, the East Side Riders.

29. South Los Angeles and the Surrounding Metropolitan Area Presenter: Vivian Cole

This project is part of our community mapping project in the Human Services field work class. This project requires us to find out information about the city that we are doing our intern in. We are to find out about the demographics, geography, infrastructure, community agencies, fresh food locations, and housing. We are also getting information on funding and elected officials, as well as, find out about the strengths and challenges in the community so that we can come up with recommendations for the community.


30. Community Service Involvement is to Make a Difference on People’s Lives Presenter: Gloria Vargas-Martinez

I believe that as person, it is my responsibility to give back and help anyone in need. I also believe that community service and volunteering is very important. I feel it’s every individual responsibility to help others in their community. My community service involvement is to make a difference on people’s lives.

One organization that I hold very dearly is LA on Cloud9. I had experience how we make a difference when we help the homelessness community and the families in need. For our commitment to continuous support and volunteering for LA on Cloud9, I and LSBA was awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the California Legislature Assembly in 2015.

As community service director for Latino Students Business Association at CSU Dominguez Hills for the 2015-2016 academic year, I was heavily involved in reaching out to several departments on and off campus to volunteer and co-host community service events: • CSUDH alumni kayaking event • Watts Rebellion Garcetti Volunteer • Center for Service Learning, Internships and Civic Engagement • Los Angeles Regional Food Bank • One Piece at Time beach cleanup • Compton Initiative • Special Olympics • Career Fair • Grad Fair • Feria De Univision • Food Bank • Gobble Gobble Give • Women Equality Day August 2015 • City of Hope blood drive • 50th Anniversary of the Watts Rebellion. • CSUDH Day of Service: Honoring History • Supporting other clubs at CSU Dominguez Hills: OLE, HUSSA, Women Resource Center, Logistics, Psychological Department, Career Center, Alumni Department.

31. Organización Latina Estudiantil (OLE) Presenters: OLE members

OLE, or Organización Latina Estudiantil, is a student organization that focuses on promoting and representing the Latin American culture. We encourage ourselves to prevail academically and achieve our education goals. Plus, we also focus on making our university experience as joyful and exciting as possible. Throughout the semesters OLE has participated in many events and helped the community in various ways, both near and far. One way we have given back to the committee is by hosting a soccer tournament. The funds that we received from the participants go to an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. We didn't stop there. Many of our OLE members went down to Tijuana, Mexico to engage with the children at the orphanage and deliver the funds and donations that we collected for them.

Locally, we have volunteered at Skid Row, an area in Downtown Los Angeles plagued by homelessness. We donated the ingredients to make around 300 sandwiches, as well as ponchos, tarps, and socks. We personally handed out the donations and got to greet each person who was in dire need of them.

In the school we have participated in events that was aimed to engage not only our university community but our local community as well. Such events were our annual Día de los Muertos and Piñata Lab. Our OLE members were able to volunteer at an event that showcased the Día de los Muertos tradition and allow people from children to older community members to go and enjoy. In the Piñata Lab, we were able to show people how to make a piñata from scratch. Young children were able to make their own creations and enjoy their piñata.

In the future we wish to extend our community engagement. We know we can go farther.


32. Woodcraft Rangers: Continuing a History of Engaging Youth as Civic Leaders and Innovators Presenter: Rubio Frigoso

Woodcraft Rangers will present on its 94-year commitment to fostering youth leadership and civic engagement. Throughout our history we have engaged youth in activities that connect with their own interests or spark new found passions that help guide and motivate them as they explore pathways to purposeful lives.

With the support of community partners Woodcraft Rangers’ youth have experienced the joy and empowerment of having their voices and actions seen as integral parts of their community. Woodcraft Rangers is continuing this tradition with a city wide Youth Leadership Summit with over 200 youth attending. Woodcraft Rangers will share videos and photos from the event as well as first-hand accounts from participating students of their experiences preparing for and presenting their service learning projects. Woodcraft Rangers will highlight the importance of providing these opportunities with the support of community partners in order to achieve the greatest benefits for the participating youth and their communities.

Taking place on March 19, 2016, the Youth Leadership Summit will be the culminating event and competition finals for the hundreds of elementary, middle and high school students currently participating in the NVISION Youth Advisory Board (YAB) program. The students will have developed service-learning projects to address important needs in their community, in the process learning a wide-range of skills they can apply to real-world experiences. During the Summit students will participate in leadership workshops led by civic, business, and education leaders, this will then be followed by the student presentations of their service learning projects to a panel of community leaders. One project will be selected to fund and put into action in April 2016.

Examples of topics the Woodcraft Rangers’ youth are currently working on for their service learning projects include: Elementary School Presentations, More Green Spaces, Stopping Violence & Bullying, Poverty & Hunger, Health & Wellness Middle School Presentations, Social Awareness for Undocumented Youth, Supporting a Community Orphanage, Animal Welfare, Promoting a Healthy Community High School Presentations, Access to Higher Education, Anti -Violence & Bullying Initiative, Promoting a Healthy Environment, Health & Wellness for All. Woodcraft Rangers will present the winning project to the guests at the Symposium and invite them to be part of the Woodcraft Rangers’ mission to mentor and support our future leaders.

33. Labor and Social Justice Club Presenters: Shantal Orea, Armando Ruiz, Irene

Each year the Labor and Social Justice Club and the Labor Studies Program organizes a massive event here at CSUDH. We collaborate with outside community organizations that support labor, social justice and economic issues. High school students from the Los Angeles region are invited to attend. The Labor and Social Justice and Environmental Fair is a huge event in which CSUDH students and faculty participate. This year we are commemorating the Black Panthers 50th anniversary.


34. Schools Federal Credit Union: Working to Survive in the Competitive Financial Services Industry Presenter: Ricardo Garcia Mentor: Dr. Kirti Celly

During the spring 2015 semester, I worked with a prospective partner to bring a community-based learning project to campus. The partner, formerly housed on our campus, is SFCU, with their headquarters at 2200 West Artesia Blvd. in Ranch Dominguez, less than five minutes from our campus. The Chief Operations Officer (Carlos) and Marketing Manager (Mario) visited our classroom to describe the industry they work in and their challenges as a small credit union of two branches. Their core mission is to serve people in the education community in the Los Angeles and South Bay areas and to create products that serve the specific needs of their target market.

Together with Professor Celly, several projects were defined that small groups of students would work on. Some were: Branding, Survey Research, Identifying Consumer Segments, Pricing Comparison, Social Media and their Website. As the CSUDH intern and liaison, I persuaded the instructor and class to have all students in our class involved. Further, I was instrumental in coordinating an open house at their headquarters where all classmates were invited for lunch with senior SFCU managers and where students could see firsthand how a credit union organization functions, how the various departments works together, a branch visit, and how a credit union differs from a bank.

What I learned as an intern and liaison between the class and our live case study: 1) Addressing the many challenges of an organization must be done by examining the parts, 2) The importance of identifying and serving target segments, 3) The banking business is a people-oriented, service business, 4) The use of social media to direct prospective members to the new storefront and the website, 5) The challenge in helping and motivating a large class of students who may have varying levels of interest in the project. The goal was to build a portfolio of recommendations to SFCU to serve as an area for future student interns and consultants to build and work on. My overall mission was to help further forge another relationship between our university and a nearby, friendly, and willing Community Partner for future students to continue building upon.

35. Health Science Student Alliance Presenters: Adriana Gonzalez, Christina Arzate, Kristi Sprowl

We will showcase the volunteer work and community engagement projects that our organization does on and off campus. We work with organizations such as Be the Match, Kaiser, American Heart Association, etc.

36. Reading Partners Los Angeles: Unlocking Student Potential by Raising Student Achievement Presenter: Chloe Oliveras

Literacy is the foundation of all successful learning. Without reading, students do not have the skills they need to be successful in their academic careers, and their life options are limited. Sadly, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only about one third of our nation’s fourth graders can read proficiently. Once students start to fall behind in reading, they tend to fall faster and further behind their peers with every year. With the support of CSUDH interns, Reading Partners is working to improve the education outcomes for elementary school students in Lawndale elementary schools and beyond.


37. Self-Perception and Performance at CSUDH Presenters: Nick Kucelin, Julain Velasco, Jarred Metkus Mentor: Christopher Potts

Our presentation will describe the process of responding to a community service assignments in our English 111 course that required us to identify a problem facing the campus community and to propose to University President Dr. Willie Hagan a solution to that problem. Based on anecdotal experience, we hypothesized that CSUDH students were likely to have negative perception of themselves and the campus, and that these negative perceptions could result in poor performance. Through various modes of primary research including surveys and interviews of our own design approved through the IRB, we discovered that our hypothesis was not supported, and we'd like the opportunity to share the experience and reflect on the assumptions that might have colored our hypothesis. We will display survey and interview materials as well as IRB documents to illustrate our engagement with legitimate research and hint at the profound learning that comes from that engagement.

38. Found Animals Foundation - How You Can Make a Difference Volunteering With an Animal Welfare Organization Presenters: Justin Varis and/or Nicole DuBois

Discuss the Found Animals Foundation Mission - "To minimize the number of homeless pets euthanized in shelters by bringing business principles to bear to develop cost effective, scalable, and sustainable models for addressing pet overpopulation." Discuss important animal welfare statistics in the US and Los Angeles. Discuss how volunteers provide support to every department in our organization & how volunteering can truly help save lives!

39. Sunshine Lighting the Way Presenters: Breanna Haynes, Asia Watkins, Cristo Molavy, Griselda Rodriguez, Emily Ly

Team Sunshine serves the community of Compton, California through Jumpstart (children first). We are sharing our involvement in the community by displaying what we do in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Our presentation gives you a glimpse some of the things we do through Jumpstart. Team sunshine serves with a heart and devotion to see the lives of our partnered children influenced in a positive way through our services. One thing that is very important to us is community and getting to know the community we are in so we can better serve our children. One way that we aim to satisfy this goal is through our family and community involvement. The future is bright for our children and we are honored to help light the way.

40. Jumpstart for Young Children: Circle Time Presenters: Vincent Richmond, Ada Sandoval, Nelly Martinez, Judy Juarez, and Luz Garcia Mentor: Jessica Ramirez, Miami Gelvezon-Gatpandan, Sergio Pineda, Cheryl McKnight

Team Saturn is one of seven teams in this year's Jumpstart for Young Children AmeriCorps program. Jumpstart is a supplementary language and literacy curriculum that aims to help preschool children develop the language and social skills needed to enter kindergarten. During each the session the children engage in various activities that develop their knowledge. One of the activities the children engage in is Center Time where they can go to different centers such as Let's Find Out About It, Puzzles, Books, Dramatic Play, Writing, and Art/science. The children have their own choice of with area they would like to participate in.


41. CSUDH 2016 Thriving Presenter: Georgianna Garrels Mentor: Steven Frieze

There is an urgent need to assess thriving and well-being in students in order to develop a measure to accurately portray the picture of a whole and flourishing student and how it would be possible to support and encourage thriving in an academic setting. Thriving helps promote an individual’s ability to flourish and should be a multidimensional conceptual measure that will be comprised of multiple individually valued life domains like Seligman’s theory of well-being, PERMA and targets at three construct levels encompassing of the positive experience, positive personality, and positive communities and institutions (Forgeard, Jayawickreme, Kern, & Seligman, 2011; Huppert & So, 2013; Seligman & Csikzentmihalyi, 2010; Seligman, 2011). These positive psychological constructs are often strongly correlated with one another, however are usually studied independently (Friedman & Kern, 2014). A thriving student is not without the absence of struggle, it is the ability to despite all odds to overcome the overwhelming adversity that is faced on a daily basis.

42. Urban Gardening Downtown Long Beach Style Presenter: Deborah Miller Mentor: Christopher Potts

Residents at the community apartment located at 730 Magnolia Avenue in Long Beach would like to invite interested gardening enthusiasts to come work and play, plant, harvest, control weeds organically, and develop and utilize compost. We also plan to use the garden space for community events, as we have built a stage under the eucalyptus trees and have potential for a myriad of functions.

43. Community Service Learning Project Presenter: Erik Ugarte

We take pictures of things people might view as a negative, like alleys and graffiti, and use them to give back to local communities by committing a percent of our profits towards social goods.

44. Community Capacity Building Presenters: Valencia Simpson, Jeremy Napial, Ursula Forner

To demonstrate the importance of Macro-Social Work in vulnerable populations such as low-income, English learning, and geriatric communities. Macro- Social Workers build healthy communities through community capacity-building efforts that focus on some combination of four major strategic areas: leadership development, community organizing, organizational development, and fostering collaborative relations among organizations.


45. Enhancing Community Social Capital via Leadership Development Training Presenter: Leo Barrera Mentor: Dr. Brian Jarrett, NCRP

The NCR 594 Project is a community service project focused on building community social capital in the underserved and heavily Latino community of Wilmington. The project will begin by providing leadership development training to residents and workers in Wilmington. Afterwards, a mentoring phase will provide ongoing technical support to the participants to help them continue to develop their individual leadership styles and networks. The aim of these activities is to garner the support and resources necessary to create a nonprofit organization to administer a comprehensive community assessment using a community-based participatory research strategy. The ultimate goal is to build effective leaders and representatives from within the community to address the economic, health, social welfare, and quality of life disparities that afflict the community.

46. What Makes You Happy? Presenters: Gloria Martinez, Rosa De La Torre, Caroline Thompson, Max Garcia, Kevin Torres, Janet Torres, Olivia Lee Mentor: Dr. Cal Caswell

We want to create an active community that challenges community members to remind themselves, what makes life beautiful. Our entire mission is to create a more positive constructive environment within school systems, social groups, and the community itself. We have formulated a workshop where individuals will be challenged to remind themselves why their life is beautiful. During these workshops we will create signs that illustrates the small things in life that can make everyday a good day. We will use these signs to stimulate happiness, create a sense of belonging, and encourage everyone to COME TOGETHER. Wristband Challenge: Those who choose to wear these bands have chosen to stand up with us on our journey and are choosing to sign the pledge to end violence, end judgment and hate, and to embrace the beauty of life, and stand up for happiness.

We are CSU Dominguez Hill students who were initially approached by our professor Dr. Caswell about partaking in a national competition titled P2P: Challenging Extremism. This organization wanted students to create new innovative ways to help stop the spread of violence, gangs, and most importantly ISIS. One thing we know about ISIS is that while they target everyone, they specifically target individuals who feel alone, who lack support from others, people who maybe dropped out of school, or are suffering from the loss of a family member…. ISIS targets anyone vulnerable enough for them to corrupt and control. We are here to offer students, community members, and anyone in of need resources to get help and a safe place to express themselves Work Shop Our main mission with these workshops is to inform, promote, and inspire each and every one. We know the population is composed by mothers, fathers, and entrepreneurs, boyfriends, girlfriends, sons, daughters, husbands, and wives. And with so much on everyone’s plate I think it's safe to say that each of us has one major thing in common- we all have a lot of stress in our day to day lives.


47. Do Coyotes Residing on the Palos Verdes Peninsula Select Different Prey as a Result of Residing in a Wildland-Urban Interface? Presenters: Alex Lepicier, J.J. Barajas Mentor: Judith King-Rundel

During an internship semester with the PVPLC, the coyotes of the PV Peninsula Reserve were studied. It was assumed these coyotes were influenced in what they eat by the closeness of an urban area. Prey consumed by coyotes was studied and identified, scat samples were analyzed and deposition patterns were mapped using GIS software.

48. Urban Wildlife Tracking at CSUDH and Urban Cities Presenter: Angel R. Pinedo Mentor: Judith King-Rundel (Earth Science/Geography) and Dr. John Thomlinson (Biology)

A wildlife study using scent stations baited with an animal lure. I identified and measured tracks of raccoon, coyote, brush rabbit and domestic cat. Scent stations were placed in open areas throughout the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills. In addition, scent stations were placed within the Dominguez Hills Nature Preserve and the nearby Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve. In particular, Coyote (Canis latrans) tracks were identified and plotted on a map with estimated home ranges in the Carson area.

49. SOLES4SOULS Presenter: Dr. Sam Wiley

Over 26 million pairs of shoes have been distributed to the needy in more than 127 countries including the United States. In collaboration with the CSU Emeritus & Retired Faculty Association, SLICE, Facility Services, and PCLASS, California State University, Dominguez Hills is leading the CSUs in partnering with Soles4Souls to collect at least 25,000 pairs of shoes to be distributed to individuals, especially children living in developing countries.

50. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Presenter: Tori Correia

To foster the ideas of service, charity, scholarship, civil and cultural endeavors, sisterhood and finer womanhood. These ideals are reflected in the sorority's national program for which its members and auxiliary groups provide voluntary service to staff, community outreach programs, fund scholarships, support organized charities, and promote legislation for social and civic change.

51. Tracking MTBE Groundwater Contamination in Santa Monica Presenters: Hannah Loveall, Wexing Tong, PhD, and Brendan McNulty, PhD

Beginning in the late 1970s, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) was added as an oxygenate to gasoline to replace lead and burn cleaner fuel. However, studies from the 1990s showed that underground storage tanks often developed leaks that led to groundwater contamination. Further research done on MTBE confirmed its potential hazard to the environment and to human health. In 1999, California issued a ban to phase out MTBE, and a complete ban was in enforced in 2004. Efforts have since been made to remediate ground water contamination by MTBE, and its degradation product, tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA). Research presented here focuses on the status of MTBE ground water contamination cases in the Los Angeles area.


52. Team Jupiter at the YWCA Presenters: Joana Vazquez, Paola Aleman, Jessica Garcia, Alexis Barfield, Angie Santos, Valencia Bernard, and Andrea Cardenas

Team Jupiter works with the YWCA child development center located in the City of Compton. We are one of many teams that have enlisted our time and service in the Jumpstart for Children, Americorps program. We are dedicated to serving children within low socioeconomic communities, with the mission of filling the readiness gap to successfully prepare children for their next developmental transition into kindergarten. A combination of team planning, classroom training and individual planning help prepare us to implement a different session plan each week designed to enhance literacy and reading comprehension.

Each week we introduce a new core storybook that is aligned with the current unit’s theme, along with new vocabulary words to aid in the expansion and articulation of the children’s language abilities. We also allow the children to expand their creativity with more hands on experience during center time, where we implement centers like art, writing, reading, puzzles, dramatic play and let’s find out about it.

As a team we like to go above and beyond our conventional lesson plans and implement special holiday edition activities added on to our original lesson plan, and provide goodies such as books and erasers that the children may take home. We love seeing the progression throughout the time we are in the classroom, and it is rewarding seeing our partner children filled with joy and success.

53. Teaching Grateful Thinking to High-Schools Students Presenters: Norma Mulato and Jason Sender

Research has shown that experiencing gratitude is linked to overall well-being and life satisfaction (Froh et al., 2014). This is in part due to the role that gratitude plays in social integration (the use of one's strengths to help others and society), the development of healthy relationships, and in school achievement.

In a longitudinal study by Froh, Bono, and Emmons (2010) gratitude, social integration, and the motivation to use own strengths to help others, were examined in middle school children. They found that gratitude predicted increases in social integration 6 months later, partly because of increases in prosocial behavior and life satisfaction at 3 months. Furthermore, adolescents (ages 14-19 years old) who were considered more grateful, reported higher life satisfaction, higher academic achievement, higher involvement in activities, and engaged in more social integration (Froh et al., 2011). Interestingly, those same adolescents also reported experiencing less envy, depression, and materialism. Thus, the literature indicates that grateful thinking broadly promotes positive youth development. However, only one out of the three interventions found in the literature focused on directly supporting youths’ experience of interpersonal gratitude (Froh et al., 2014).

The current pilot study builds on this research and focuses on training youth the social-cognitive appraisals underlying interpersonal gratitude: appreciating the personal value of gifts/help, the cost to benefactors, and the altruistic intention of benefactors. Specifically, approximately 150 high school students in English classes were taught to thoroughly process interpersonal benefits by applying three benefit appraisals to their life personally, through an autobiographical essay about a significant experience with a benefactor, and through an essay analyzing the short story, the Gift of the Magi. Surveys were administered before and after the lesson (1 week apart). Results indicated that grateful thinking can in fact be trained, and effects were found on empathy and well-being.

1000 East Victoria Street Carson, CA 90747 www.csudh.edu

csudh 3rd annual community engagement symposium

Documents