April 28: Community Organizers and Activists


Jumpstart:
Kayla Webster & Julia Young

Nominated by Jenessa Flores Parker
Like everyone else we have had to move our entire Jumpstart program virtually this year and I could not have done it without my students and their genuine love and care for our program partner children.

Kayla Webster has continued to shine in her role as a corps member and community leader working with preschoolers from under resourced communities and schools. Each week along with her team members she has been present for her classroom preparing them for kindergarten and showing support in any way that she can. Kayla is a true asset to our program and I value her presence very much. Her classroom teachers have also shared that they appreciate her attentiveness and patience that she displays each week especially since keeping the attention of anyone let alone 3-5 year olds is a huge task!

Julia Young has been an incredible program assistant who has also played a huge role in moving our program virtually. She has also amplified our social media presence while collecting data of over 110 children who are participating in our Jumpstart program this school year to ensure we are meeting the needs of the program partners, their families and our community.


Shanie Kalikow, Ari Wood, & Benjamin Shaw

Nominated by Anonymous
Shanie is the student lead for Direct Action @ PZ, Ben is the student lead for The People’s Pitzer, and Ari is the CEC student delegate of the City of Pomona Covid-19 action committee. Each of them has displayed exemplary work in connecting the campus community to real needs and measures for social change during the pandemic.

Pilar Kalra and Stephanie Camey

Nominated by Anonymous
Pilar is a student hired by the Pomona Public Library to facilitate tutoring/mentoring needs to PUSD Youth. Stephanie Camey manages the Encuentros program on campus that supports day workers from around the local area to students at Pitzer. Both students have served in critical capacities to support the communities they work for and serve.

Michael Griggs

Nominated by Nigel Boyle
Michael, as an NRS student and formerly incarcerated, has done huge work, including through being an IGLAS Fellow, to press Pitzer and other actors to work on the transition needs of currently and formerly incarcerated students.