PSP welcomed new 7^th grade scholars from Lennox into the program in late January. These scholars have been matched with caring mentors all of them have now participated in their first PSP outing!

These 7^th graders went to museums, new restaurants and explored new areas of Los Angeles with their mentors. We asked mentors and scholars to tell us about their outings and below are their responses. Read the rest of this entry →

From Colgate University’s Scene/Alumni Spotlights
Autumn 2012
By Aleta Mayne 

Although Lennox Middle School — located beneath the landing path of Los Angeles International Airport — is just a mile away from the Pacific Ocean, many of its students have never been to the beach. This hard-to-believe, yet telling, truth is what most struck Dr. Glenn Langer ’50 when he got to know the students of the school through a volunteer program established by UCLA. Having grown up during the Great Depression, Langer “immediately identified” with the poverty-stricken students, most of whom come from immigrant families. He decided to do something to help.

Langer was director of UCLA’s Cardiovascular Research Laboratory as well as a professor of medicine and physiology when he started volunteering at Lennox’s science fairs and career days back in 1995. “It was only 20 minutes from the UCLA campus, but it was another world,” he said of the school district, which is only 1.3 square miles but is troubled by 16 active gangs. “A lot of these children have never been out of that district in their lives. This gives you a rough idea of the disadvantage that they have.”

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