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news
Students offer
community service
By Elizabeth Barragan
On-line Forty-Niner
The Leadership
Long Beach Program has added two Cal State Long Beach staff
members and two students to its class of 2002.
Marcella Chavez,
director of the Women's Resource Center, Steven Hinds, program
administrator for the Foundation Building and Center for the
Commercial Development of Transportation Technologies and
Hemarun Som, a third year business major and coordinator for
the Cambodian Parent Orientation Program are among the 27
members chosen to participate in the program.
Kalim Rayburn,
who is taking classes through University College and Extension
Services, was also chosen.
A highly selective
program, LLB looks for motivated individuals that will help
Long Beach programs succeed and be more effective. The program
was established in 1989 to develop a diverse principled leadership
among its Long Beach residents to enrich the community.
Sponsored by the
Press-Telegram, Arco, the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce and
many influential individuals, the non-profit organization
is an arena for community leaders to come together and create
a network of knowledgeable individuals dedicated to improve
the city and enhance awareness and issues affecting the community.
The LLB program
is very competitive and has a lengthy selection process. Participants
must first fill out an application that requires them to have
been involved in positive organizations and a have clear understanding
of their philosophy of a leader.
Applicants then
must sit through an in-depth interview where they are evaluated
and have a chance to express why they are the best candidates
for the program.
Participants must
also pay a $1,500 tuition fee. Some participants receive help
from individual sponsors in paying their tuition.
The program requires
100 hours of class time plus projects involving community
issues. LLB is a program with a diverse course curriculum
and participants.
Chavez, nominated
and sponsored by CSULB President Robert Maxson, who was also
a participant. She is highly motivated to help others and
understands the impact she can have on the community with
the LLB program as a vehicle.
Chavez is a 13-year
resident of Long Beach and is in the process of finishing
her dissertation in feminist leaders.
"I feel positive
through the work I've done, and the impact I've had within
the university and the Women's Resource Center," Chavez said.
"I think to be an effective leader you ... must empower others
and train them to have personal development, and know their
limitations. Learning and working with many styles of leadership
is what makes this programs great."
The program has
a wide range of individuals participating. There are participants
with different backgrounds in careers, age, race, sex and
are from both the private and public sectors.
At 20 years old,
Hemarun Som is one of the youngest participants. Som applied
for the program after participating in the Cambodian Leadership
Long Beach Project, which was established by the previous
class of LLB.
Som, sponsored
by the Cambodian Leadership Long Beach Project, hopes to learn
how to become more active in the community. He plans to someday
run for city council.
"The program teaches
the principles of leadership," Som said, "I always wanted
to be a community leader. I want to understand the system."
Som has been involved
in many campus activities, including serving as president
of the Cambodian Students Society.
Steven Hinds, a
Long Beach native and former Marine, brings experience to
the program. He said that the program is a great way to expose
the community to projects and issues that affect Long Beach.
Sponsored by the CSULB Foundation and personal funding Hinds
was introduced to the program by his wife Mary Hinds.
"I thought I wasn't
participating enough in the community," Hinds said, "I thought
It would be a great way to be part of the community."
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