This post was updated May 10 at 10:50 p.m.
A UCLA student-run educational club is looking to bridge educational gaps across Los Angeles K-12 schools.
UCLA Alcanzar – which means “to reach” in Spanish – is an organization that aims to support students from underserved communities and schools across LA.
About 70% of California’s school districts have seen enrollment declines over the past decade, with some of the largest declines being concentrated in LA, according to a January report from the Public Policy Institute of California. The state’s biggest declines were largely concentrated among multilingual learners, the report said.
Members use their experiences in higher education to share important information about college life, said Eugenio Serna Lopez, a third-year Spanish student and Alcanzar board member.
The club also provides English language classes and tutoring for students, said Lopez, a co-lead for the classes.
Fernanda Herrera, the founder of Alcanzar, said the club volunteers in schools across LA, including in East LA and downtown LA. However, the club has struggled to find enough volunteers, especially for locations that are far from Westwood, she added.
“The places that we volunteer at, they’re not close by,” Herrera said. “The areas that need us are usually further.”
Herrera said her experience in different education systems motivated her to create the club.
“I moved around a lot, which meant that I went to different school districts,” said Herrera, a third-year education and social transformation student. “I’ve been to districts that had money. … I would go to districts where, all of a sudden, the teachers are quitting and you’re having subs come in every other day.”
Alcanzar also aims to help UCLA students find a community, Herrera said. She added that the club is open to all students, regardless of their background or interests.
“If you’re someone who cares and has gone through similar experiences, then you’re the most equipped in those rooms,” she said. “You not only understand, but you are also speaking from a place where you can give information back to those who require it.”
Lopez said he finds fulfillment in using his personal experiences to guide other people.
“Sometimes we think that when we don’t come from educational backgrounds that maybe we don’t deserve to be in places like UCLA, when, in reality, we’re already coming with cultural wealth,” Lopez said. “Kids need to make sure that they know that they have that in them.”
Lopez said he co-led an Alcanzar resume workshop for Para Los Niños, which provides educational support to students and their families. People from diverse educational backgrounds – including high school, college and trade school students – attended the workshop, Herrera said.
Alcanzar also leads pre-medical and STEM education workshops for high school students, said Carmina Day Tolentino, the STEM lead at Alcanzar. She added that she creates curricula for workshops and provides training for volunteers to host STEM-related activities.
Tolentino, a second-year biology student, said she led a pre-med workshop that taught students about the process of diagnosing a patient.
“I was scared they wouldn’t be interested, but they were really into it,” she said. “When our time was up, they were asking their teacher if they could stay for five more minutes.”
Tolentino said watching students gain confidence throughout the STEM sessions has motivated her to continue volunteering with the club. She added that her experience in an underfunded high school motivated her to join Alcanzar.
“I am really grateful that I have this opportunity to give back to the community and be able to make, hopefully, a difference in these students’ lives,” she said.
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