Cal State Fullerton’s
Project SHINE Selected for National Honor
U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award
Spotlights Students Helping Immigrants
January 17, 2008 :: No. 131
Cal State Fullerton’s Project SHINE,
which has helped thousands of local immigrants learn English,
was honored today with the U.S. President’s Volunteer
Service Award.
Graduate
student Sue Shanley, a Project SHINE volunteer pursuing a
master’s degree in education, also was recognized
for her individual accomplishments with English learners.
Her master’s program concentration is in teaching English
to speakers of other languages (TESOL).
The awards
were presented during a seminar at Los Angeles City College
hosted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the
White House Office of USA Freedom Corps. The seminar was
offered to encourage individuals to volunteer to help legal
immigrants become more actively engaged in their communities.
“We’re
proud of our students and this project, which does so much good for so many
people,” said Dawn Macy, associate director of the university’s
Center for Internships & Service-Learning, who has managed the project
since its inception at Cal State Fullerton in 2001.
“The
community buy-in to the program has been remarkable, and
this is what continues to make SHINE possible. Project SHINE is an excellent
example of collaboration for the betterment of all,” Macy said.
So far,
564 Project SHINE students have volunteered more than 11,000
hours of service to 1,071 older immigrants. Through the program, CSUF students
are paired with English learners, and even when matched with those of different
cultural backgrounds from their own, the similarities in life stories make
natural bridges, Macy explained. The students and learners connect in such
ways as sharing meals, playing games and studying for the U.S. citizenship
exam.
SHINE
is one of several community-engagement projects involving
internships, service-learning and informal volunteering for
which Cal State Fullerton students donated more than 715,000
hours during 2006-07.
Our students are knowledgeable about and sensitive to the
issues and challenges that immigrants face,” Macy said.
Graduate
student Shanley, a Fullerton resident, has worked with immigrants
from Mexico, Vietnam, Korea, Peru, Panama and Syria at Stanton
Community Services Center.
“I’m
inspired by their tenacity and their willingness to learn,” said
Shanley, who volunteered 30 hours during the fall semester
and will volunteer again this spring. “These people
should be supported and encouraged because they do put in
a lot of effort to learn English, contrary to what some people
may think.”
Shanley,
who plans to continue working with English learners after
she earns her master’s
degree, is humbled by the recognition and accepted the award
on behalf of all of Cal State Fullerton’s Project SHINE volunteers.
“We’re
all very valuable in what we do, and in that spirit, I accept
this for everyone who has put in the work to help older immigrants learn English
and assimilate into our communities,” she said.
Project
SHINE is a national service-learning program that was launched
at Cal State Fullerton with grant monies from Temple University
to build partnerships among community colleges, universities
and community organizations to benefit older immigrants,
refugees and college students.
Today, the
project is part of a university service-learning program
involving CSUF students who spend a minimum of 20 hours a semester helping
older immigrants learn English or prepare for their citizenship exam.
For the last seven years, the university has partnered with
the North Orange County Community College District to provide
tutoring services to mostly elder learners enrolled in English
as a second language classes or citizenship courses at local
community colleges, community centers and senior centers.
Macy pointed out that immigrants want to learn English for
a host of reasons, including to communicate with American-born
grandchildren, get a job, pass the citizenship exam, or do
such simple tasks as answering the telephone or talking to
doctors and their children’s teachers.
“Commitment
from the Center for Internships & Service-Learning, the
university’s
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and the North
Orange County Community College District has led to the institutionalization
of the project,” Macy
said.
Jesus
Torres, a beneficiary of Project SHINE and a Fullerton resident,
said the program helped him to pass the U.S. citizenship
exam this month.
“My
tutor helped me with the government and history questions and to practice for
the interview part of the exam,” said Torres, who took citizenship courses
at the Wilshire Center School of Continuing Education in Fullerton. “I
felt comfortable with the Cal State Fullerton students. I could trust them
to help me with my questions.”
The eldest
of 12, whose siblings and parents live in the state of Jalisco
in Mexico, Torres wanted to learn English and become a U.S.
citizen so that he could vote. He hopes to be able to vote
in the upcoming presidential election — and
already knows which candidate he will vote for.
“We
all benefit from the generosity of others, and these volunteers are an inspiration
for others to follow,” said Alfonso Aguilar, chief of the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services Office of Citizenship, of the Project SHINE students. “They
have made serving the immigrant community a key part of their lives, and by
helping their neighbors, they also help our nation.”
More information
about Cal State Fullerton’s Project SHINE is available
online at www.fullerton.edu/CISL.
Media Contacts: |
Debra Cano Ramos, Cal State Fullerton Public Affairs,
657-278-4027 or dcanoramos@fullerton.edu
Iris Preciado, Cal State Fullerton Public Affairs, 657-278-4343
or ipreciado@fullerton.edu
Dawn Macy, Cal State Fullerton’s Project SHINE,
657-278-7450 or dmacy@fullerton.edu
Marie Thérèse Sebrechts, U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services, 949-360-3000 or marie.sebrechts@dhs.gov
Chris Rhatigan, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
202-412-5012 or chris.rhatigan@dhs.gov |
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