Authors' Charity Raffle to Benefit Students Like Juan and Marianna at LA Community Colleges
by Kathe Gogolewski
When nine authors teamed up to present a raffle benefiting students in writing programs at the Los Angeles Community Colleges, they happily donated gifts and autographed copies of their books for prizes. As the word about the raffle spread, so did the enthusiasm, and the donation list expanded to include nineteen authors and an array of fifty-three prizes to beckon potential winners, including two in which a winner’s name is written into a novel. The inspiration behind the project came easily for the donors, who responded to the idea that deserving LA Community College students will receive writing scholarships from the raffle proceeds. Alexandra Maeck, head of the English Department at Los Angeles City College (LACC), one of the nine colleges in the District, said, “It is the students who make LACC a remarkable institution.” Classrooms, she says, are filled with students of differing ethnic, economic, and age diversities. They take classes because “they can get in, they can afford it, and they can work at the same time.” 75% of their students are low income, 74% are first generation college students, and 77% are minorities.
At present, a Community College student in California faces the threat of fee increases from $26 a unit to $33. According to a statement posted on the budget update page of the Community College League of California website, “many college officials believe there is a demand of students, who, if the funding is provided and fees not increased, (will) continue to seek access to higher education.” Many do seek this access in spite of the challenges. Marianna Melik-Bakhshyan and Juan Moran, two LACC students, are among them. They have embraced the opportunities and programs available to them at the college and are gustily reaping the benefits. As partners on a debate team, they have won top awards across the country. They placed first in the Novice Division at the University of Berkeley, and at the Northern California Forensic Association Tournament at the University of Pacific in Stockton. They were also the first community college team in twenty-five years to break in the elimination rounds at the national level of competition held in Georgetown University this year. Both Juan and Marianna are also gainfully employed in the campus “English Writing Center” tutoring other students.
Yet, achieving this status has not been a simple exercise for either of them. Juan details a childhood that was “very ordinary” he said, until he reached high school. There, he immersed himself in speech and debate, honors advanced placement coursework and academic decathlons, and a world of pressure. “I was militantly pursuing academia” he said, and in an effort to live up to everyone else’s expectations, “wasn’t paying attention to myself.” He paid a price for that neglect as he became increasingly more involved with drugs, “to drown out my feelings.” As a result, by the time he was a junior, he had become a “habitual user of pot”, or marijuana. It was, he says, “my drug of choice.” No longer willing and able to sustain the pressures of his junior year, Juan left school and went to live with his father, who had separate d from Juan’s mother when he was 9.
Juan credits his father as the “catalyst” that turned him around and set him on the right path. It was “the power of love”, he says, that provided him with the impetus to change. He joined a recovery program and “got closer to my father. He helped me personally rather than academically.” This time, when Juan returned to school, he was prepared. He started courses at LACC, received his GED and has thrived ever since on the curriculum and guidance he has received from the college. He eventually plans to attend law school.
For Marianna, the struggle began three and half years ago when her family traveled from Armenia for “political and economic reasons” Both parents wanted their four daughters to receive a higher education in America. Marianna, who is the oldest, had already graduated from high school in Armenia, but she enrolled in an American high school to improve her English language skills.
She attended high school for two years while simultaneously completing coursework at LACC. She says the American system of education is “awesome” and very different from the schools in Armenia. Here, every student “has independence of his or her own” and stands on “their own two feet.” She says she, too, became “independent” and “did everything by myself.”
Now, just three and half years after arriving in the United States, she helps students on campus in both the “English Writing Center” and as a mentor in the Supplemental Instruction/Mentor Academy Program where she accompanies students to their classes, interprets lectures and helps with homework. Marianna also plans to complete an undergraduate education program and attend law school.
Undoubtedly, many deserving students fill the classrooms and hallways on the nine campuses in the LA Community College District, but according to Maeck, “nothing like this raffle has ever been done before.” While grants and loans exist to aid students, their financial needs remain constant, and awards such as this one can allow students to devote more time to their studies.
The English Department at LACC includes English and ESL disciplines as well as creative writing and literature courses. The department hosts an annual writing contest with an awards ceremony. Students in the creative writing class regularly give readings at Skylight Bookstore, an independent bookstore near the campus. Faculty and other authors also sponsor writing workshops for the students.
100% of the raffle proceeds will go toward writing scholarships. Authors and raffle organizers include Kathe Gogolewski, Ann Durand, Marilyn Peake, Sandra Wagner, K. L. Nappier, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Susan Merson, Sheri McGathy, and Peter Prellwitz. Tickets may be purchased online at Double Dragon Publishing at double-dragon-ebooks.com. Click on Feeling Lucky? Or they may be bought at the LA Times Book Festival at the Author’s Coalition Booth, Booth 610, Zone F next to Barnes and Noble. Checks, payable to the California Community College Foundation may also be mailed to TRI Studio, 4978 Marin Dr. Oceanside, CA 92056. One ticket will be awarded for every dollar submitted. Buy ten tickets and receive an extra two, free of charge. Charitable donation receipts issued.Students Like Juan Moran to Benefit from Author’s Scholarship Raffle
By Kathe Gogolewski
It’s been a rough road back from addiction and a broken home, but Juan Moran got his second chance, and he’s not wasting it. This time, he’s embraced the opportunities and programs available to him and is gustily reaping the benefits.
As a student at Los Angeles City College (LACC), one of nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District, Juan is part of a debate team that is taking top awards across the country. They placed first in the Novice Division at the University of Berkeley and at the Northern California Forensic Association Tournament at the University of Pacific in Stockton. They were also the first community college team in twenty-five years to break in the elimination rounds at the national level of competition held in Georgetown University this year. Juan is also gainfully employed in the campus “English Lab” tutoring other students.
Achieving this status has not been an easy exercise for Juan. He details a childhood that was “very ordinary” he said, until he reached high school. There, he immersed himself in speech and debate, honors advanced placement coursework and academic decathlons, and a world of pressure. “I was militantly pursuing academia” he said, and in an effort to live up to everyone else’s expectations, “wasn’t paying attention to myself.” He paid a price for that neglect as he became increasingly more involved with drugs, “to drown out my feelings.” As a result, by the time he was a junior, he had become a “habitual user of pot” or marijuana. It was, he says, “my drug of choice.” No longer willing and able to sustain the pressures of his junior year, Juan left school and went to live with his father, who had separated from Juan’s mothe r when he was 9.
Juan credits his father as the “catalyst” that turned him around and set him on the right path. It was “the power of love,” he says, that provided him with the impetus to change. He joined a recovery program and “got closer to my father. He helped me personally rather than academically.” This time, when Juan returned to school, he was prepared. He started courses at LACC, received his GED and has thrived ever since on the curriculum and guidance he has received from the college. He eventually plans to attend law school.
Community colleges across the country offer students like Juan a new opportunity to succeed. Alexandra Maeck, head of the English Department at LACC, says classrooms are filled with students of differing ethnic, economic, and age diversities. They take classes because “they can get in, they can afford it, and they can work at the same time.”
Nine authors are presenting a raffle to support these students. 100% of the proceeds will provide writing scholarships for students like Juan that deserve that second chance. Details may be viewed online at the Double Dragon Publishing website at double-dragon-ebooks.com. Click on “Feeling Lucky?”
Tickets may be purchased online or they may be bought at the LA Times Festival of Books at the Authors’ Coalition, Booth 610, Zone F next to the Barnes and Noble Pavilion. Checks, payable to California Community College Foundation, may also be mailed to TRI Studio, 4978 Marin Dr. Oceanside, CA 92056. One ticket will be awarded for every dollar submitted. Buy ten tickets and receive an extra two, free of charge. Donation receipts issued.
Writer for TRI Studio LLC
A PROMISE TO KEEP/romantic suspense
pen name: Ann Durand
Available Now from Double Dragon Press
TATO/fantasy adventure for readers ages 8 to 13
Kathe Gogolewski
Available November, 2005 from Wings ePress
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