Workshop

Jun 6 2011

Mission Viejo Library

MISSION VIEJO, Calif.—Recent college graduates looking to land a job will be able to get tips from an expert recruiter during a free workshop in Mission Viejo on Tuesday.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 51 percent of college graduates found a job in 2007. Three years later, only 21 percent of recent graduates landed a job.

With that in mind, the Mission Viejo Library applied for a grant to help recent college grads in their job search, city spokeswoman Kelly Tokarski said.

Marisol Aguilar  |   OW Contributor
Oct 28 2010

Focusing on eliminating differences

The Palmdale School District is hosting the second annual Bridging the Achievement Gap Conference Nov. 6 at the Palmdale Learning Plaza to give parents, educators, administrators and community members valuable strategies to help close the persisting achievement gap.

“[The goal of the conference] is to give teachers and parents strategies to help students who are having a difficult time in the classroom. This is a state and nationwide issue,” said Jezelle Fullwood event coordinator.

Sep 16 2010

Honoring the art of dance

First lady Michelle Obama recently hosted the first ever White House event honoring the art of dance. She dedicated it to highlighting Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, an icon in the dance world and considered one of the greatest choreographers in the country. Jamison will step down next year, after 20 years of running the company following founder Alvin Ailey’s death in 1989.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”