UA grad students work toward happy ending for teens

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat UA graduate student and English TA Greg Strong (second from left) tutors several high school students at the Pima County School for Self-Advancement in early November. The program brings UA English graduate students, twice a week, into the local alternative high school's classrooms to discuss texts and develop the writing skills of about 50 high-schoolers.

An English graduate student-run program has been connecting University of Arizona tutors with troubled youth in an effort to boost self-esteem and college aspirations through creative writing.

The program, which began in September 1997, brings UA volunteers into a local high school's classrooms to discuss texts and develop about 50 students' writing skills.

The UA English graduate students venture twice a week to the Pima County School for Self-Advancement, 811 S. Sixth Ave. - a facility for teen-agers who are on probation or have been expelled from other schools.

High school sophomore David Torres said he has been inspired to go to college because the tutors have shown him that he has the ability to write.

"I never knew I had these talents," said Torres, 17. "I never knew I could write stuff like that and they showed me I could."

Dan Gula, one of the program's organizers and a teaching assistant in the English depart-ment, said students sometimes use the oppor-tunity to explore feelings and confront problems.

"Commonly what they write about isn't pretty," said Gula, an English graduate student.

The high-schoolers occasionally write about drugs, being chased by police or visiting a cemetery, Gula said.

"It might give them the language to deal with it (problems), to act rationally - to think clearly ... through an issue," Gula said. "I believe they need to talk and write to effectively deal with it, to keep it from being a monster inside them."

Clay Connor, the School for Self-Advancement's principal, said he thinks the high-schoolers need people who "treat them like they are bright and valuable."

"That is exactly what they (the UA graduate students) do," Connor said.

Aspiring to be the first in his family to attend college and earn a master's degree, sophomore Severo Navarro said his interaction with graduate students will help give him a clear idea of the university environment.

"They're preparing us for college life - telling us more about what to expect when we get to that position," Navarro said.

The graduate students brought about 40 of the high school students to visit the UA in early November. They toured the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, listened to Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan speakers and ate lunch in the Memorial Student Union on the English department's tab, Gula said.

Freshman Larry Aguilera said seeing the campus made college seem more interesting and welcoming.

"There were a lot of people from where we come from over on the south side," he said. "It was really neat."

English TA Greg Strong said his involvement in the program gives him a connection to the community he would not otherwise have.

"I get some teaching experience and spend time with kids who I feel really need me," said Strong, a creative writing graduate student. "For me, to see them recognize and express themselves is a huge satisfaction."

Gula said he finds volunteering at the school personally gratifying.

"It is very fulfilling for me, and I think that may be when I am at my best and most alive," he said.

Bob Houston, the creative writing program director, said he will most likely nominate the UA graduate student mentors for the College of Humanities Service Award.

"They are doing things with kids that everyone else has given up on," said Houston, an English professor. "But they haven't given up on them and the result is good."

School for Self-Advancement junior Elizabeth Castillo said she has benefited from her interaction with the UA English graduate students.

"It made me realize the more education I get, the more pride and more things I get out of life," Castillo said.

She said she plans to keep practicing and improving her writing.

"It has made me realize I can do good at it," said Castillo, who has been involved with the program since it began. "It has made me realize I can go on and further develop my writing skills."

Rachael Myer can be reached via e-mail at Rachael.Myer@wildcat.arizona.edu.