Dr. George Ferenczi and Dr. Miki Kalpins are currently sponsoring four scholars and mentor seven scholars together. They joined PSP 15 years ago and share why they support and mentor PSP scholars below.

Dr’s Ferenczi and Kalpins ran a free clinic in Azusa and when that closed they wanted to continue giving back to the community. They both held education dear to their hearts and began researching programs they could support or emulate. They heard about PSP after their friends the Lurie’s who are also PSP mentors told them about the program. They got in contact with Dr. Langer, our founder and began their relationship with PSP.

Dr. Ferenczi is originally from Hungary and Dr. Kalpins is from Chile. They both had inspiring figures in their lives who helped them reach their academic and professional goals. While Dr. Ferenczi received help from a priest at his church to pursue his education, Dr. Kalpins worked with the head of her department at Harvard to receive a scholarship and become an orthodontist. They both felt it was their duty to give back in the field of education that allowed them to thrive.

They shared a story of their first group of scholars they mentored and their first trip to downtown Los Angeles. Their scholars were from El Monte, 15 miles away and they had never seen the Los Angeles high rise buildings. Dr. Kalpins said that this experience demonstrated the great need of PSP and the cultural and academic enrichment that the communities we serve have. This same scholar later went to Chicago with PSP and experienced the Skydeck, a 1353ft. high glass overlook of the city and is now a student at the University of California, Irvine.

Dr’s Ferenczi and Kalpins have sponsored and mentored many students throughout the years. They host two dinners at their home yearly to reunite PSP alumni with current scholars. PSP alumni share about their collegiate experience and current scholars get to ask questions and share their own experiences too. They both love seeing their past and current scholars grow and succeed during PSP and for years to come.

Sponsor letters are the main form of communication between scholars and their sponsors. Dr. Ferenczi says he enjoys reading about what scholars do during the year. He likes to see that they are taking advantage of the many opportunities to explore academic and cultural outings and programs. He would like to see the scholars write more about how they are being impacted by PSP. He asks “how is the program helping and what has the program done for you?”

These letters allow our generous PSP sponsors to get a better sense of who the scholars they support are and what their goals and dreams are. They are an avenue for our scholars to tell their sponsors how they are utilizing their funds to enrich their lives both academically and culturally. They want to know more about our scholar’s personalities, their goals and of course, their fun outings. We encourage our scholars to keep in touch with their sponsors and to take advantage of these letters as sponsors believe in all the amazing things you want to accomplish.