Que Pasa? - PEOPLE

“There has to be an awareness (of) multicultural differences,” said Rosina M. Becerra, 53, the new dean of UCLA’s School of Social Welfare. Becerra, the first Latina to head a professional school at UCLA and the first in the country to head a major school of social work, wants to make cultural sensitivity an integral part of her school’s curriculum. She worked previously as a child therapist, drug counselor, mathematician and computer programmer, and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil. After the Los Angeles riots, Becerra coordinated a phone bank where 300 English-, Spanish- and Korean-speaking volunteers counseled about 2,000 callers. “An understanding of individual cultures allows us to tailor our practice to any particular group’s needs,” she said.

East Los Angeles’ Jesus Jauregui-Matunaga, 21, is having trouble deciding whether to go into politics right away or go to law school first. This summer the communications senior at Loyola Marymount University, who was one of 10 public policy interns selected by the National Assn. of Latino Elected Officials, worked in the Sacramento and East Los Angeles offices of Assemblywoman Lucille Roybal-Allard. “This (program) was a very good tool and a very good steppingstone,” he said. He has also participated in the United Farm Workers movement and founded two inner-city youth mentor programs at LMU. “It’s not how much you learn from books, it’s how much you serve others that’s the mark of your success,” he said.