October 2022 – Caring for Self and Community
Dear MOSTe Family,
On Tuesday, to celebrate International Day of the Girl, three of our Youth Ambassadors and I traveled to Oakland to attend the Alliance For Girls conference, “The World We Imagine.” The Ambassadors met with students from Oakland and Los Angeles, discovered resources and opportunities, and enjoyed hearing from speakers with many different perspectives. I felt inspired by seeing so many powerful women working creatively and tirelessly to achieve gender equity. MOSTe is proud to be a founding member of AFG’s LA branch, and we look forward to future collaborations to support our students.
You can still sign up to attend our Wellness Fair this Saturday! We’ll have fun creative and self-care activities for mentors and scholars to do together. Mentors, it’s a wonderful day to introduce your friends to our work and invite them to volunteer with us, too.
UC applications are due November 30, and our seniors are hard at work finishing those PIQs. We’ll be holding a Get It Done session with them later this month to support them across the finish line. Please send them encouraging thoughts!
Onward,
Amy Ludwig
Executive Director
Victoria, Monica, and Arianna at the AFG conference
Click the image to support our work, or sign up to join us in self-care!
MOSTe In Action
Community Organizing Workshop
This month, scholars came together at East Los Angeles Community College to learn about several social justice movements. The MOSTe Youth Ambassadors led three sessions on revolutionary movements including The Black Panthers, food justice activism, and reproductive rights issues. Scholars also took a field trip across the campus to the Vincent Price Art Museum to see the current exhibition, entitled Sobrevivir. The show displayed the impact and importance of art as a form of activism and community healing. Overall, it was an impactful day of learning and realizing our collective power!
How To Make A Movie
Our amazing allies at Women in Legal at Disney coordinated a virtual panel in September on “How to Make a Movie: Everybody Involved From A to Z.” Scholars learned about many roles in the different cinematic departments, points of entry for those careers, and the importance of networking. Huge thanks to Production Executives Chris Caraballo and Kimberly Robinson, and VFX Director Joey Bonander, who generously shared their own paths and experience.
High School Highlights
Congratulations to our Rose Princess!
We’re so proud of 12th grader Michelle for earning a place on the 2023 Tournament of Roses Royal Court! She was awarded this competitive honor for her excellent record of academic achievement and community service. “Members of the Royal Court experience countless benefits; becoming part of an organization dedicated to hands-on volunteerism, discovering opportunities to connect with and give back to the local community, developing public speaking skills, and growing self-confidence.” Cheers, Michelle!
2023 Royal Court: Michelle is third from the right. Click on the photo to learn more.
Mentor Moment
“I shared about my career in Advertising. Yarely wants to be a CSI agent, but after hearing about advertising, she is interested in learning more about advertising.” – Mentor Bonnie C.
“We came to my house and baked homemade granola and cheesecakes.” – Mentor Christa D.
“Andrea officially began her work program at Cedars Sinai! She is in the anesthesiology department, which is perfect because her long term goal is to be an anesthesiologist! It is so amazing to hear her take steps to achieve her goals!” – Mentor Isabel C.
“I loved seeing Natalie serving as a group leader during the Sept 23rd workshop, and sharing the information she had learned about the Black Panthers.” – Mentor Sarah H.
“Monica has taken on several new roles this year, and she’s the busiest I’ve ever seen her. She’s thriving so far, and I’m so proud. I know she’ll do an outstanding job.” – Mentor Ashlee Z.
Andrea enjoying ramen.
“This school year is off to a great start! My scholars have become proactive and are enrolling in all workshops MOSTe is offering. After being a mentor for the last four years, my scholars and I have developed a relationship based on trust, communication, and commitment. I can’t wait for October’s outings.” – Mentor Elba S.