First-Year Students Unite for Community Engagement Day

Biology major Jordan Balbuena wandered through a crowd of hundreds of first-year students under the hot end-of-summer sun. The thoughts rolling through her mind were not uncommon among her peers.

“I’m a little scared,” the Downey High School graduate said. “I only know one person here.”

But fear turned to familiarity and strangers transformed into friends by the end of the day for students participating in University of La Verne’s Community Engagement Day on Aug. 29.

“This is the largest and best-prepared class in the history of the University of La Verne, and when you survive today, you’re going to be the toughest class in the history of La Verne,” said Provost Jonathan Reed.

First-year students, along with Orientation Week Leaders, faculty and staff members provided community service at various sites around the Inland Valley and Los Angeles. Students painted rooms and other fixtures at group homes, installed smoke detectors at a mobile home park and planted vegetables at community gardens, among other tasks. Pomona City Councilwoman Debra Clark presented the University with a certificate of appreciation for students’ work at Ganesha Park.

Professor of Humanities Al Clark traveled with students to Glendora to the Colby Trailhead to conduct trail maintenance.

“I’ve been there before the fire, so it will be interesting to see what it’s like and what we’re going to do,” he said.

La Verne considers Community Engagement Day the first academic experience for La Verne freshmen, giving them a chance to interact with and bond with faculty and students in their Freshman La Verne Experience learning communities.

Evan Gustafson, a member of the basketball team and a kinesiology major, said he has done community service in the past, such as coaching basketball for children. But La Verne’s event brings a new dimension to giving back.

“You actually get to know professors and students more than you would in class,” he said.

Music major Albert Khalbourji served as an OWL for the event, but remembers working on the farm at the Fairplex as a freshman. Though he did not know many people at the beginning of his first Community Engagement Day, he made plenty of friends by the end. He and fellow students in his FLEX group wound up joining Phi Delta Theta together. His goal as an OWL was to make sure he could help freshmen similarly.

“My goal is to make sure everyone has a friend,” he said.

Reed also pointed out how the event brings people together.

“Take a look at your FLEX,” he told students. “You represent the ethnicity, socioeconomics and people of the great state of California, and you are individuals, but by the end of the day, you’re going to be a community.”

Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Keith Lord said that not only do community organizations benefit from La Verne’s work, but La Verne students also benefit. After working with the Boys and Girls Club at a previous year’s event, Lord said students listened to workers tell stories about how they have impacted the lives of young people.

“The students were inspired,” Lord said. “It was powerful.”