The Azusa Pacific Blog

Nikki is a returning SLA, and is a native Californian from Orange County.  She is a Sophomore, studying Communications and Marketing. Heavily involved in many aspects of APU life, Nikki can always be counted on to exude life and excitement. Her bold and outgoing personality suits her well in her role as the undergraduate SLA in charge of the Fall 2011 semester’s C.H.A.M.P. program, which stands for College Headed and Mighty Proud.

Each year, the College Headed and Mighty Proud (C.H.A.M.P.) semester-long program introduces the idea of college to around 700 fourth graders from six local schools in the Azusa Unified School District through various activities. The C.H.A.M.P. program is a service-learning experience for APU students enrolled in EDLS 405 Diversity in the Classroom. This education course is designed to engage prospective teachers with issues such as race and culture in the educational setting. Each semester, APU partners with three elementary schools from the Azusa Unified School District. APU students are assigned to classrooms at the designated school sites to serve as college mentors to groups of five to seven fourth grade students. The APU students facilitate activities that correspond to the C.H.A.M.P. curriculum, covering such topics as college admission, financial aid, and career exploration.

Nikki and Amanda, the graduate assistant in charge of C.H.A.M.P., work with the professors, APU students, and school partners to make sure everything runs smoothly. They also run Visit Days, where they take the fourth grade students around campus, showing them places such as the cafeteria, dorms, classrooms, and other locations, in order to give them a feel for what college life is really like. At the end of the semester, they host a graduation ceremony where all the fourth grade participating students come to graduate from the program and declare to their parents, teachers, and fellow classmates what major and career they desire to pursue.

Visit Days are Nikki’s favorite event. Having to contact the different school departments and schedule all the different components has helped to enhance her professional development within the realms of her own career goals. Nikki hopes to continue learning how to plan and implement effective programming as well as working with children. She has a heart for reaching out to others and keeping a focus on God at the center of all her endeavors.

This spring, Nikki will be spending a semester abroad in South Africa. She will be facilitating the Service-Learning component for all the APU students who are a part of this South Africa semester abroad program. She hopes to continue her professional development, giving life and energy wherever she is placed. Nikki’s top strengths are Woo, Positivity, Activator, Includer, and Communication. With this combination of strengths, it is easy to see what a great asset she is to the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research, as well as a vibrant and active APU student.

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Mary C. Pearce is the Graduate Assistant Coordinator for Student Professional Development and Program Support  at the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research, Working on a Masters of Science in College Counseling and Student Development

Reade is one of our three new Service-Learning Advocates (SLAs) who started this year. She hails from Colorado Springs, Colorado, a sophomore on the APU women’s soccer team, studying Biochemistry (pre-med) with a minor in Spanish. I sat down with her over coffee this month to get her perspective about being a part of the Center Academic Service-Learning and Research as an SLA.

Reade is a detailed individual and enjoys the varied tasks of her position, which provide a refreshing variation to her assigned tasks as a biochemistry/pre-med major. What Reade personally values and gains most from being an SLA in the CASLR is the rich mentorship and wisdom of the varying ages of women in the office. She also finds working with upper-classmen encouraging and helpful. She finds their experience an invaluable resource.

Some of the community partners with which Reade works with are St. Frances of Rome School in Azusa, where a COMM 111: Public Communications class meets with sixth grade students to prepare them for a Speech Night. Working with the Speech Night project is a special treat because she had the opportunity to be a part of this class during a previous semester and has personal experience of its reciprocal impact for both the APU students and the sixth grade students. Another of Reade’s programs is Angels Sing, which is a caroling event that BUSI 210: Principals of Organization and Management students help organize for Visiting Angels, an in-home care organization for senior citizens. This year’s Angels Sing event is scheduled for December 7 from 3pm to 8pm. Extra volunteers are welcome to participate.

Being a part of the CASLR team has influenced Reade both professionally as well as spiritually. Since she is a pre-med student with many years still to go in schooling, she has loved the opportunity to apply what she is learning in the community and to be able to make a difference now while she is still in school. Spiritually, Reade is blessed by the CASLR’s representation of the Body of Christ, all working together, utilizing everyone’s unique talents, and helping each other as one unit in a loving, caring environment.

Reade hopes to be able to continue contributing to the CASLR through her passion and intentionality to complete her assignments with excellence, and to leave behind a trail of small secret encouragements to the rest of the office staff. Reade’s top Strengths are: Woo, Achiever, Strategic, Includer, and Belief. She enjoys the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over to her cause by being a positive, passionate example. She is able to really get behind a goal or mission, believe strongly in it, and persuade others to join her enthusiasm. She is also able to visualize new possibilities and think through them in order to find the most efficient logistical solution to issues that might arise. Her SLA Buddies, the two teammates assigned to be her first line of help and resource in the office, would most likely describe her as independent, liking to be challenged, but not afraid of asking questions.

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The Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research (CASLR) at Azusa Pacific University now collaborates with more than 70 undergraduate classes each semester with a Service-Learning component integrated within their syllabi. What students are learning in the classroom is immediately applied in practical ways that makes a difference in the community as well as giving great hands-on experience to participating students.

The CASLR employ nine undergraduate students to organize all functioning components, including communicating with the professors, the students in each class, the community partners, and organizing all the logistics. These amazingly talented individuals are called Service-Learning Advocates (SLAs), and they are the hands and feet of this sizable endeavor.

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Mary C. Pearce is the Graduate Assistant Coordinator for Student Professional Development and Program Support  at the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research, Working on a Masters of Science in College Counseling and Student Development

The Community Scholars Program, spearheaded by Dr. Judy Hutchinson, Executive Director for the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research, and other key Service-Learning staff, marks a groundbreaking effort to introduce a collaborative model of community-based scholarship focused on improving the overall health of the City of Azusa.   The program united a range of city institutions: the Azusa Police Department, Our Neighborhood Homework House, the Azusa City Library, St. Frances of Rome Church, the Neighborhood Wellness Center, the Azusa Chamber of Commerce, the Azusa Unified School District, and Azusa Pacific University.

Above: Scholars receiving their “Community Builder” awards.

From left: Nancy Johnson (Azusa City Library), Father Aloysius Ezeonyeka (St. Frances of Rome), Emma Cook (Chamber of Commerce), Crystal Marquez (Our Neighborhood Homework House), Dr. Robert Duke (Azusa Pacific University), Alexis Ruiz-Alessi (Azusa Unified School District), Julia Pusztai (Neighborhood Wellness Center), and Xavier Torres (Azusa Police Department).

Representatives from each partner agency/organization met regularly throughout the spring 2011 semester, learning and implementing community development research tools, which included studying the history and current state of Azusa, generating a shared vision for its future, mapping and evaluating each agency’s network, evaluating top concerns facing the city, and creating interlocking chains of resources and partnerships to address those issues.

Community Scholars performing a cause-consequence analysis exercise.

The Community Scholars Program yielded many significant insights into the challenges, opportunities, and underlying infrastructure of the city, as well as new avenues for networking and partnership.

True community empowerment was demonstrated, as the program supported the capacity of the city of Azusa and its members to act as scholars and generate knowledge by collaborating in this sustainable community-building project.

Xavier Torres, Azusa Police sergeant concluded, “It was a unique program that brought strangers together who became friends and can now work together and share resources.” Moving forward, the Community Scholars plan to meet on a quarterly basis, rotating host responsibilities, and maintaining strong relationships and dynamic project collaboration.

On September 19, the Community Scholars reunited for their inaugural quarterly reunion, graciously hosted by St. Frances of Rome Church. The group dined together, renewed previous commitments, and discussed ongoing collaborative projects, before attending the Azusa City Council meeting and formally presenting the activities and outcomes of the Community Scholars Program, spreading their excitement and vision for a strong, healthy Azusa.