LOMITA : Teaching Awareness Is a Class Act

Many people who watched the 1992 riots on television felt frustrated about racial tension in Los Angeles, but Harvard University freshman Yea-Lan Chiang decided to do something about it.

With experience as a Kiwanis Club Kiwanette, a year of Harvard under her belt and less than $300 to spend, she created a program that has flourished since 1992 and won Chiang recognition for helping increase cultural awareness.

The free program called SAMPLE will continue for the fourth summer at the Lomita Kiwanis Hall starting June 30.

The six-week course matches 24 high school students one-on-one with grade-school children who need extra help mastering English. The curriculum they use emphasizes awareness of other cultures and urban social issues.

Last summer, the children made meals for the homeless, painted over graffiti, cleaned up a public park and went on field trips to local museums. The 7- to 12-year-old students attend the program from 2 to 5 p.m. three days a week and alternate Saturdays.

The high school students act as teachers and mentors, and they have to find their own ways to overcome language and social barriers. They use general curriculum guidelines, but have to find teaching methods that work with their particular child.

To benefit the high school students, SAMPLE administrators hold special sessions on leadership, preparation for the Scholastic Aptitude Test and filling out college applications.

In addition to these sessions and the firsthand teaching experience, program organizers say the high school students learn a lot from their relationships with the grade-school children.

Alicia Pentz, 16, worked last year with Ahran Son, a 10-year-old from South Korea, whose parents were here on business. Since their summer together, the students have kept in touch.

Alicia says trying to explain things like tagging and littering to children made her think more about those things herself.

“It was almost like getting a new little sister,” Alicia says. “She has made a lasting impression on my life.”

Working with program organizer Chiang also made an impression, Alicia says.

Chiang inspired Alicia to start a service club at Torrance High School, where Alicia is a junior. Chiang held the office of governor of the Western region of Kiwanettes when she was a high school senior.

Chiang’s parents, who emigrated from Taiwan, wouldn’t have chosen a public service career for her. But after her exposure to Kiwanis, running SAMPLE and four years at Harvard, Chiang says she’s dedicated to helping others.

In March, she won a community service award from Nordstrom acknowledging her efforts to improve cultural diversity. This month Chiang was awarded a CORO Foundation fellowship, a yearlong national public affairs internship in Los Angeles, which she will start in September.

This summer she’ll dedicate herself to finding more financial backing for SAMPLE, so that in the future it will go on without her.

“We’re trying to build up a small nest egg so it won’t be so insecure from year to year,” Chiang says.

But one thing will make this summer at SAMPLE especially meaningful to her.

“One of the most gratifying things is that some of the first students are old enough to be counselors,” Chiang says.

For more information about SAMPLE, call (310) 539-3197.