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Youth Services Martin Luther King Education Center E-Newsletter
| June 2010 |
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Graduating Students Celebrate Educational
Stepping Stone
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 More than 100
MLK Ed. Center staff, students, friends and families gathered earlier this
month for a commencement ceremony honoring 22 graduating students. Of the
graduates, 21 received their GED, and one student received a high school
diploma.
Joining student
speakers Brianna Deisler-Hicks, Alex Konoff and John Caleb Leuck was Johnny
Lake, president of Positive Images Consulting and
counseling instructor at Northwest Christian University, who presented the keynote speech about giving
back, supporting one other and remembering to believe in yourself, as others
believe in you.
"This
year's graduation was phenomenal," raved Piper
Barry, employment specialist at MLK. "It's always so refreshing to see the smiling proud faces of these
graduates, their families, friends and the Youth Services staff. These youth
work incredibly hard and have persevered through many obstacles in order to
reach this point. You can't help but beam with pride!"
Smiling from ear
to ear, graduates, their families and friends rounded
out the celebratory evening with a
short reception and treats provided by The MLK Ed. Center's Culinary Arts
Program.
Congratulations
to 2010 MLK Ed. Center graduates! We wish you all luck on your future
adventures!
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Student of the Month: Ricardo Mejia
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 Ricardo Mejia is a fantastic
student. His grades are among the
highest in the school despite his struggle with allergies that kept him out of
school several days in the spring.
He often asks for makeup work and completes his regular assignments to
the best of his abilities.
Ricardo's creative artistic talents were recently demonstrated when he
completed several thank you banners and graduation posters. He is well liked by both staff and
students for his calm and positive demeanor.
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MLK Ed. Center:
By the Numbers | |
6 - pounds of peas harvested by Horticulture Program students and used
in the lunches for community service crews
35 - number of computers refurbished by Technology Program students
during the 2009-2010 school year
40 - tomato plants planted by Horticulture Program students in June
215.4 - miles of trails restored by Horticulture Program students during the
2009-2010 school year
500 - catering events successfully serviced by Culinary Arts Program
students during the 2009-2010 school year
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| Upcoming Events | |
July 6: Summer school begins
July 27: Culinary Arts Program students cater the City of Eugene's volunteer
appreciation event for 100 guests
July 29: Culinary Arts Program students cater private bar mitzvah for 250 guests
August 8: Culinary
Arts Program students cater South Eugene High School class reunion for 100
guests
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Horticulture Program: The Weather Isn't the Only Thing Heating Up for the Horticulture Program
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 Summer is in
full swing, and the Horticulture Program is taking full advantage of the drier
and warmer weather to complete a list of projects throughout the city, on the
trails and in the garden. On the trail
front, horticulture crews continue making their way through the McKenzie River
trail system, removing boulders, roots and cut brush and rebuilding culverts
from the sides of the trail. Crews have been fortunate to work alongside the
Sahalie Falls section of the trail, which is known for its scenic waterfalls
and stunning display. Their work on the 26-mile long McKenzie River trail has
helped mountain bikers, hikers and joggers who travel regularly up and down the
long stretch. Pesky brush and
grass pop up everywhere during "weed-eating season," which is why the city work
crew embarked on a mission to clean up miles of city and dog park fence line
covered in tall grass and brambles this month. The city crew is not only
keeping parks well manicured, but it is also reducing the risk of dangerous
grass fires.  In the garden,
the horticulture crew weeded and mulched all the garden beds and pruned the native plant garden. The garden, which is successfully producing a bounty of
lettuce, corn and potatoes, recently received a donation of more than 50 tomato
plants from the University of Oregon's urban garden. The crew harvested three
quarts of raspberries and strawberries from the garden and looks forward to
seeing how much the new plants will bring. Soon, the
Horticulture Program will have a "shade house," a greenhouse covered by a mesh
cloth to provide young native plants with shade during the hot summer months.
Students will use the shade house to help propagate several species of native
plants and sell them all over the community. MLK's
horticulture crews recently received exciting news: The Bureau of Land Management's Eugene District, Willamette National Forest and the City of Eugene's Parks and Open Space have renewed their contracts for
fiscal year 2010. These contracts
help MLK provide more than 200 students with paid job opportunities and job
training positions. |
MLK Ed. Center
Featured on Working For You Local
Cable TV Series
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The latest show in the Working
For You series, "Martin Luther King, Jr. Education Center: Opportunities
for Success," highlights MLK's partnerships that provide opportunities for
local youth to succeed.
Show Times
New shows air the first Wednesday of each month at 9:30 p.m.
on Comcast Cable 21. Shows replay throughout the month at:
9:30
p.m., Fridays
9:30
p.m., Saturdays
9:30
p.m., Sundays
3
p.m., Sundays
4:30
p.m., Mondays
9:30
p.m., Wednesdays
Show times are available at Metro TV Channel 21's website.
Each show will also be available on the Lane County
website.
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Technology Program: Students Tour NextStep Recycling
|  This month Technology Program students were introduced to
numerous work experience opportunities during a tour of NextStep Recycling. Students were amazed by the size and
scope of NextStep's operations and several expressed interest in obtaining jobs
at the nonprofit community service organization.
Students also created their own peer-to-peer networks and
learned to repair real-life problems with computers during simulated
demonstrations. Using laptop
computers generously donated by Lane Council of Governments, technology students were
taught how to disassemble the machines and studied the operation of their
internal components. |
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Culinary Arts Program: Meals and Memories
Are Made in the MLK Ed. Center Kitchen
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 The Culinary
Arts Program blew through yet another month of highly anticipated events and
classes, hardly stopping for a moment's rest with a meat-cutting training session,
an annual End-of-Year Barbecue and eight catering jobs.
In the beginning
of June, students dove right into their second training session with Stephen Neel, CEO and owner of Oregon Natural Meats. Students learned about the science of meat, which included basic knowledge of meat products, meat selection,
preparation and butchery. The trainings were so successful and
productive that Stephen agreed to host
monthly three-hour sessions with students from the Culinary Arts Program.
Shortly after graduation and to
celebrate the last day of classes, students hosted MLK Ed. Center's annual End-of-Year Barbecue. The crew heated up
the coals and stocked up on rich seasonings and sauces for sliders, hot dogs,
garden burgers, potato salad and all the fixings.
The work is
never done for the culinary arts students. Even after classes end, catering
must go on. Students are scheduled throughout the month to cater events for
organizations such as LaneCare and Springfield Fire and Life Safety.
One of the
students' largest catering events this month was Centro Latino Americano's Amigos de Centro Community Fundraiser Dinner, where students whipped up spicy,
traditional Latin American fare.
"Our culinary
arts students really enjoy showing off their impressive and hard-earned
culinary skills and helping to raise money for organizations such as Centro
Latino Americano who do so much for our community," says Matthew Sterner, MLK Ed. Center Principal.
Students have a
busy summer forecast with catering events sprinkled throughout the next several
months, including a bar mitzvah with a whopping 250 guests and a high school
reunion with 100 confirmed guests.
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Student Perspective: Jimmy Celeste
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 As a student at the MLK Ed. Center, I can say that I have
had many great experiences and personal triumphs this year. Before I came to this school I was really
struggling as a student and I was really far behind in my math studies. It was hard going to a school where I
got no help and I just didn't do the work because I didn't know how. Since attending this school for two
months I have come really close to catching all the way up in math and that is
very personally rewarding for me. It was awesome to get good grades, which is something that I have never
got before. The one-on-one time I
get with the teachers and staff has really helped me succeed as a student,
which I don't think would have happened otherwise. This personal learning environment has really helped me
prepare to go back regular high school, where I know I will succeed now.
I also enjoy working in the kitchen as part of the
vocational program, where I have learned some invaluable skills. I have learned how to cook, wash dishes
and how a kitchen is a business environment. It is fun working with the other students and to see them
being nice, helpful and supportive of each other. I have personally learned a lot from Chris Bradley and I
really enjoy working with him. The
staff members in the kitchen are also extremely helpful and encouraging which
makes the kitchen a motivating and rewarding work environment. I would like to be a chef someday, so
it is nice to have the opportunity to work in the MLK Culinary Arts Program and
gain experience in the field.
Another thing I enjoy about going to school at MLK is the
field trips we get to take. We
went to EWEB and got to experience what is was like to be a worker there. I really enjoyed going up in a cherry
picker about 50 feet in the air. We toured the EWEB facility and learned how to seal a broken water pipe,
assemble faucets, operate backhoes and cranes, and basically learned an
overview of all the equipment used.
In all I can say that going to MLK has helped improve as a
student. The staff is always there
to help and they create a safe and fun learning environment. I can honestly say that being on
probation is not fun and I know that this opportunity to improve myself has
really paid off.
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MLK Ed. Center Spring Adventures
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 MLK students joined high
school students from nearby schools in exploring careers at Eugene Water and Electric Board. Students enjoyed getting wet and dirty as they experienced a
day-in-the-life of a utility trade worker. Activities included climbing poles, operating machinery, stopping
water pipe leaks and soaring high in EWEB utility baskets. Students also toured the Hayden Bridge
Filtration Plant, learning about the source of our local drinking water, how
it's treated for safety and how it gets to our taps from the river.
Nineteen students chosen
based on their academic and vocational performance were treated to a special
trip to see a Cirque du Soleil show in Portland. The performance featuring amazing talent, contortions and
tricks, amazed the students. Thank
you to the Cirque du Soleil organization for the donated tickets!
 A field trip to the City of Eugene's Spencer Butte Challenge Course proved to be an excellent opportunity
for MLK students to work together, build trust, reflect on their
accomplishments during the school year and set goals for the future. Calls of encouragement from students
including "Keep going," "You can do it" and "We've got you" were heard
throughout the day as students challenged themselves both mentally and
physically. Notable goals for the
future set by the students include "Getting off probation," "Graduating from
high school," "Getting a band going," and "Going to college." Best of luck to MLK students as they
carry the lessons learned by completing the challenge course forward in
pursuing their goals!
 MLK Ed. Center's annual end-of-year rafting excursion struck out due to adverse weather conditions and students were instead treated to a trip to a local bowling alley. Students enjoyed practicing their bowling skills and cheering for each other during the afternoon of fun.
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Quotable |
Quotes from MLK Ed. Center students on their experiences during
the past school year:
"I'm proud of getting
good grades this year. MLK has
good teachers and they helped me a lot.
I like the smaller classes, being able to go on field trips, and working
and learning in the forests." - Luke Neet
"MLK gave me an
opportunity to attend school and I'm proud about getting all "A"s. I enjoy the teachers, support, and
field trips. I also learned how
maintaining a job isn't that hard." - Chris Bradley
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MLK Ed. Center In the News
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The Register-Guard
recently highlighted special instruction Culinary Arts Program students
received on butchery skills from Oregon Natural Meats CEO and owner Steve Neel
in an article, "Meat Professor," published June 11, 2010.
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| Transitions | Chris Ledgett, a former MLK
Ed. Center student who successfully landed a full-time paid internship,
works
as a cook at the Garden Way ShelterCare now.
There, he utilizes the skills he
learned in the Culinary Arts Program, as well as learning new ones from
his
peers. Chris is a recent graduate from high school and looks forward to
attending Lane Community College (LCC) in the fall.
Recently, Jake Brenner completed his
520 Lane County Extra Help position hours through the Horticulture
Program.
Now, he works as a paid intern at the City of Eugene Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department. With time and training, he can become first
aid and CPR certified.
Casey
Calhoun continues his paid
internship at the Goshen Fire District and is enrolled in LCC's
Emergency
Medical Technician (EMT) program.
Former
Culinary Arts student Zach Carter was
recently hired at Hawaiian Time restaurant. Hawaiian Time management
selected Zach over other applicants because of his extensive experience
through
the Culinary Arts Program. Zach will continue his work in the MLK Ed.
Center
kitchen, in addition to working at Hawaiian Time, until he finalizes his
work
schedule.
Chuck Powell, John Reed-Hogue and John
Hall all received .50 cents an hour pay increases for their hard
work on
the Horticulture Program's forest crew.
Alex
Konoff, Brianna Deisler-Hicksand Johnnie Cartwright each
received scholarships from the Eugene Rotary Club.
Kyle Robinson received his
Oregon State Identification card with the help of MLK Ed. Center and
will begin GED testing soon.
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| Save 20% |
Save 20% on your next catering order of $50 or more with the MLK Jr. Education Center Culinary Arts Program.
Print this coupon and present it in person to redeem value. Limit one per person. Offer not valid with other discounts or prior purchases. | | Offer Expires: July 25, 2010. |
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