Aimee Larsen, a University senior, helps Tania Guillen sound out some words in her social studies homework about the three branches of U.S. government. “Ex-ec-q-tip,” Guillen repeats as she tries to finish the assignment.
Guillen is a middle school student, and Larsen is helping her learn in a program called “Ganas.” The program sends University students to visit area middle schools and tutor students in every subject. And as an added bonus, both the middle school and the college students are learning with Ganas. Before Guillen’s last session, Larsen didn’t know that “bicameral” meant “having two houses.”
Four years ago, Jim Garcia, then director of the office of multicultural affairs, started Ganas at Kennedy Middle School. The purpose of Ganas, which means “desire” in Spanish, is to help Chicano and Latino middle school students improve their performance in school.
The program, which is run out of the MEChA office on campus, has now expanded from Kennedy to Jefferson and Kelly middle schools.
Sylvia Gil, director of MEChA, said the program is open to all students but the activities are tailored to the needs of Chicano and Latino students. Each week, University students plan activities such as field trips and games in addition to offering help with homework, said Gil, a senior majoring in political science.
Last week, they had a chance to go to Oregon State University for the “Chicanitos tour,” which was meant to show the students what college has to offer.
Later this year, MEChA will bring Edward James Olmos, star of the film “Stand and Deliver,” to campus and give Ganas students a chance to meet him.
Daniel Lopez, a Jefferson Ganas student, said, “I like the field trips and the food. Everything; I like everything.” Lopez has been attending Ganas every week since it began.
Larsen, a psychology and Spanish double major, said Lopez was shy at first, but “now he sings for us.”
That seems to be the common story: Students timidly enter the program, and after a few weeks they feel right at home. Larsen worked at Jefferson with English as a Second Language students before Ganas expanded into the school. She knew some of the kids before she was a Ganas tutor. “I love them,” she said.
Each time the groups meet, they sit in a circle and check in. The middle schoolers tell the tutors what they are doing in school, and the tutors do the same.
Guillen told the group about an assignment she is working on: “I’m doing a project on immigration and how they shouldn’t take advantage of the people.”
University student Gerardo Ochoa said, “I’m doing a presentation on immigration for one of my classes too, maybe I can help you out.”
After they check in, they break up and start their homework. The students all have different subjects they want to work on.
The tutors sit by the students’ sides and read through the material and break it down so the students can understand it. Many of the students speak English as a second language, so the Ganas program is a chance for them to get one-on-one attention.
Larsen, who volunteers at Kelly and Jefferson, said she enjoys seeing the students improve not only in grades but in their critical thinking skills as well.
“They learn how to do their homework [on their own] at home,” she said.
For Jane Harrison, University alumna and principal of Kelly Middle School, the most exciting moment was when the University students walked into the school. She said every Latino student’s head turned and everyone wondered why they were there. “They hadn’t had role models,” she said.
Harrison said the program is important because “it helps them see they can be learners.”
The middle schoolers are not the only ones who benefit from the program. “The kids end up being your little friends,” Larsen said.
Ganas tutors meet at 3 p.m. in the MEChA office, EMU Suite 30, every Monday through Thursday. For more information call 346-3508.