October & November 2010
Hello Donors, Mentors & Friends!
This past month has given us much to be thankful for. We have had our first college visit of the year, two awesome college workshops, a celebration of our first ten weeks together and more. Thank you all for your past and present support of our work with the students from the Garnet community. As you will see and read below, they are enjoying their experiences in our mentoring program, growing in their understanding of college and looking forward to the next seven months!
In this Update
1. Our First College Visit of the Year: CSUF
2. Students Learn the Basics about College
3. Reflecting on our First 10 Weeks Together
4. Clara C Concert: All Proceeds Benefit JOYA
5. Special Announcements & Final Note
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1. Our First College Visit of the Year: CSUF
Here at JOYA Scholars we believe that one of the best ways that we can inspire our students to pursue higher education is by giving them the opportunity to see firsthand what college is like.Our 9th and 10th graders were able to do just this on our very first college visit of the year to Cal State Fullerton. Students enjoyed a guided tour of the CSUF campus and even had the opportunity to get a unique taste of campus life on our visit to the Titan Student Union, where they enjoyed playing pool, arcade games, and bowling. This firsthand glimpse of CSUF was an inspiring experience to many of our students, who were excited to learn about the opportunities that CSUF and colleges like it offer for hands-on-training, meeting new people, and participating in clubs and sports teams.
Thank you! to all of the mentors, donors, and volunteers who played a part in making our trip to CSUF a meaningful and fun experience for our students.
2. Students Learn the Basics about College
Every month, we host a college-specific workshop for our students and mentors, where our students learn the fundamentals about college.Our first workshop this year was facilitated by former JOYA mentors, Tony and Kristina Sanchez.Using a family feud style game, they covered the topics, “What is College?” and “The Reasons to go to College”. Students learned the main differences between high school and college, the top ten college majors, the key reasons to go to college and what it means to study abroad and live in the dorms. Jessica Parris partnered with us to facilitateour second workshop on “The Different Types of Colleges and Transferring”. She taught students the seven types of colleges, the main difference between UCs and CSUs, the benefits of attending a community college and the advantages of transferring. We are looking forward to our next workshop in December! Greg Nakata, will be teaching JOYA students about "College Admissions and Picking the Right College".
Thank you! to Tony, Kristina and Jessica for leading the workshops for our students and contributing in significant ways to their understanding of college.
3. Reflecting on our First 10 Weeks Together
Students and mentors recently celebrated the mark of our first ten weeks together at our Debrief Meeting, where we took time to reflect on our experiences together thus far. Our students provided us with great feedback about how much they have enjoyed learning more about college at our workshops, having the opportunity to ask their mentors questions, and being able to create their own college plans so that they have a better idea of what steps to take next. Students also brainstormed about their dreams and goals for the remaining seven months of our Mentoring Program and shared that they hope to complete their College Ready Plans, get to know their mentors better, and have a plan regarding which college(s) they want to attend. We are so proud of our students and can’t wait to see what the next seven months will bring!
Thank you! to our donors, partners, and friends who have enabled us to share a valuable and inspiring first ten weeks together.
4. Clara C Concert: All Proceeds Benefit JOYA 
For our winter fundraiser this year, we are excited to be hosting our first ever benefit concert! We will be presenting recording artistClara C, a young, skillful singer/songwriter, recently recognized by the OC Register as a You Tube sensation. The concert will be a meet and greet and will also feature live music by the extremely gifted duo, My Parasol, and the talented DJ Nate Haveman! The all ages concert will be held Friday, December 10th, from 8pm to 11pm at the historic Spring Field Center in downtown Fullerton. Tickets are $25 in advance and can be purchased on our website. They are $30 at the door (cash only). All proceeds will benefit JOYA Scholars. We hope you will join us! It’s a great way to contribute to our college-prep mentoring program and, for our former and current mentors, it’s an awesome way to share your involvement with JOYA. Click here to listen to “Offbeat”, a popular song from Clara C’s debut album.
Thank you! to Clara C for generously partnering with us and to all those who will be supporting us by attending the concert!
5. Special Announcements & Final Note
- JOYA Scholars was featured in the Fullerton Observer two weeks ago! Click here to see the 1-page article.
- December 31st is the last day for financial donations to be considered for 2010 tax deductions.
- We are in need of volunteer tutors and a projector! For more details, click here to view our “Wish List” on our Facebook Fan page.
Thank you for reading! If you'd like to visit one of our meetings, join us on one of our college visits, mentor with us next year or have questions or suggestions for us, please contact Bianca, our Program Director, at biancapena@joyascholars.org or 714.322.JOYA. We'd love to hear from you!
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