Meet our COIN Scholars at SCYEA
This past June, 10 of Community Coalition’s SCYEA juniors were selected to participate in a new prestigious national scholarship program called Civic Opportunities Initiative Network [COIN]. The program funded by the New World Foundation trains the next generation of community leaders dedicated to social justice issues while also providing college scholarships and academic assistance.
Several of the SCYEA youth will have an opportunity of a lifetime when the program selects 3-5 of them to receive college scholarships to help cover tuition to the school of their choice. The youth receive leadership training, academic readiness and political education.
Last month, they traveled to New York for the COIN kickoff retreat—a three-day event held at Columbia University where they participated in workshops, excursions and other activities.
As a part of the program, COIN youth also intern at various community-based organizations where they are exposed to various social justice issues. The program funds each of their internships. This year’s SCYEA youth have been working in various departments at Community Coalition, one of six organizations nationwide participating in this exciting new venture.
Meet our COIN Scholars
Yovani Salvador Marroquin
Shanice Sholes
Chrystina Spight
Tylo White
Taylor Griffin
Rodney Thomas
Juana Gonzalez
Jesse Jacquez
Eric Maultsby
Carmen Aguilar
My name is Yovani Salvador Marroquin and I was born in Hollywood but raised in LA. I go to Fremont Magnet High School and I am 15 years old and will be 16 on Sep.14.
I joined SCYEA because I wanted to better my community and make it much better than it is now and to also become a leader of my community. SCYEA chose 10 tenth graders based on the grades and how active they were with SCYEA, so they chose me because I met those criteria.
I help out only on Wednesdays with SCYEA. I phone bank to let people know about the meeting at their schools and if they will be able to come to our HSOC. That’s what I do: phone bank them to let them know about the meeting.
My career goal is to become a teacher at Fremont Magnet High for drama, English or computer. I just want to give back to my community so others can learn from what I learned in the past. My dream university is USC or UCLA, also UC Merced I just want to go to any, but I really just want to go to USC. So those are my dream universities.
My name is Shanice and I grew up in Pomona, I now live in South Central Los Angeles and I go to Frederick Douglas Charter High School. I know individuals have been through hard times but everyone has a different story. I was raised with a single mother that tried to make the best for her three children and I was the oldest, so I had to take on an enormous amount of responsibility; we moved from house to house, I really never knew what was going on, I just took care of my little sister and brother and I hated when they asked me: where’s mom? I didn’t know. I used to cry at night just calling on God or my grandmother that passed away. I think that’s why I’m so strong today, and one day I moved to Los Angeles and my life changed. I have had a stupendous amount of opportunities.
I’m grateful and excited to be a CoCo member! It’s not where you come from, its where you’re going to; everything always happens for a reason. I always told myself that when I went through hard times. The Community Coalition has changed my life in many powerful ways because we are a black and brown organization fighting to make a difference in South Central from education to crime, violence, and cleaning up the community. We are the future and we believe we can create change. All of us together have a strong and powerful voice! COIN has shown me that I’m capable to do a lot of things in life that I have never thought I would be able to do: now I know I can go to college if I choose to, which I am. COIN has shown me how to face my fears in different situations and to be more confident. I’m glad to say that COIN has made me think twice.
Hi everyone, my name is Chrystina Spight and I’m 15. I’m from South L.A. and I am attending Manual Arts High School. The reason why I had joined SC-YEA was because I think it is very important to know what is going on in my community. Also the reason why I applied for COIN was because I think it is an awesome program where I can learn more about my community and to better my leadership skills.
I am interning in the administration department. Some of the stuff they have me doing is practicing answering the front desk phone and transferring the call to the staff that work here at CoCo. I also check all of the printers at CoCo to make sure that they have paper and ink in them and plenty of other stuff.
I’m not sure about what college I would like to go to but I would like to get involved with a cosmetology class and a business class because I will like to own my own hair salon, I love doing hair.
Tylo White
Hey my name is Tylo White. I’m 16 years old, and I currently attend Susan Miller Dorsey High School in South LA. I was introduced to C.O.I.N. by one of the organizers in SC-YEA. I applied because it’s a very unique, once in a lifetime advantageous opportunity.
I am interning in the communications department at CoCo, thru C.O.I.N. My tasks as a youth worker have been to archive media attention on the organization, updating the executive director’s contacts, and to further my knowledge of the org in general. Through this experience I’m learning many skills that will be extremely helpful in college and throughout life.
Ever since I can remember I’ve planned on going to college. I say planned and not dreamed, because all great achievements have happened based on a plan. It’s like the saying goes “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” So I plan. So, moving along, the colleges I’m looking into possibly attending are Spelman, Clark, and Morris Brown University. I’m interested in these colleges primarily because they’re historically black universities full of history, and they implement African-American culture into their curriculum. Hopefully I’ll fulfill all the requirements necessary to receive the scholarship that COIN is offering, so the financial part of attending college is taken care of. Though if I’m not as fortunate I’ll find another way to pay for college, because giving up surely isn’t an option.
After college I want to give back to my community and hopefully impact the world. I’ve been thinking about joining the American Career Corps after college, to volunteer around the country for ten months. I think it’ll be a very humbling experience.
Hello CoCo readers, my name is Taylor Griffin. I am a junior at Dorsey High School. I’ve been a part of SC-YEA for a year come October. I joined SC-YEA because I was born in South Los Angeles, so why wouldn’t I want to help my community? I want South Los Angeles to be the best place.
I applied for the COIN program so that I can be enlightened on different things, to have opportunities to go to college with scholarships. The internship has been very interesting. I learned a lot: how to facilitate, to also take lead. I work in the SC-YEA department which feels like home. With SC-YEA, I go to the high schools that are on track, we go hold meetings there and help the SC-YEA organizers.
I have a lot of goals in life. When I graduate from high school, I want to attend Spelman University or Clark University in Atlanta, Georgia. My future career is to become a successful attorney and own my own law firm.
My name is Rodney Thomas and I'm 16. I'm from South LA and I go to Manual Arts High School. I applied for COIN because I think it's a cool program where I can develop my leadership skills and learn more about how to become a community activist.
I'm a youth worker working for the cluster team where I help organizing big projects. My dream is to make it to college and I know that with COIN I think that my dream is going to come true.
My name is Juana Cristina Gonzalez, I am 15 years old come December I’ll be 16. I was born in California, and I’ve lived in South LA most of my life. I attend David Starr Jordan High School and some of the problems that were going on in the school are what led me to join SC-YEA with my sister (who is currently going to San Francisco State University thanks to COCO and SC-YEA).
I enjoyed helping and being part of SC-YEA for almost two years now, and thanks to them I was fortunate to be a part of the COIN program that will hopefully help me go to college, it can help me with my leadership skills, become a community organizer, and give back to my community. I am participating in an internship with the COIN program and I’m working in the Development Department, and I type notes, recreate documents, mail postcards, and help anyone that needs help in the department.
I want to go to culinary school and become a culinary and pastry chef. I also want to open my own bakery here in South L.A. Until recently I decided that I also wanted to be a 1st or 2nd grade teacher. I know this will be a lot of work but I’m prepared to do the work and help the community and the next generation of students.
Hi my name is Jesse Jacquez and I am 16 years old. I am about to be a junior at Crenshaw High School in South Los Angeles. I live in a house of seven.
I joined SC-YEA because I wanted to make a change in the community, my life, and in the schools. I needed help in my life because I was doing things I wasn’t supposed to be doing. I also saw the benefits SCYEA gave me. The program has lots of fun but at the same time we’re helping others by helping them in school and in life.
For me the COIN program is an excellent program for kids that don’t have money but want to go to college. I enjoyed being in COIN because it shows how people from other states can come together and be one. I thought how somebody that doesn’t even know me can care for my education and making sure that I go to college and do something with my life and be successful. It was a good chance for me to get out of California and get to know other kids who also want to go to college and be something in life. I had lots of fun meeting others who care for me and my education.
I am 16 years old and I attend Manual Arts High School and I’m from South Central.
I joined SCYEA to better myself and the COIN program was brought to my attention so I took it as a chance to make people know South Central is hard but the kids should work harder.
The department I worked in was SCYEA, the position I took up was in the Mental Health Program. My goal now is to keep up my grades and go to college.
Hello CoCo readers!! My name is Carmen Aguilar I am 15 turning 16 years old on Aug. 31. I was born in East Los Angeles and raised in South Central Los Angeles. I am currently a junior at Manual Arts High School. Hopefully I will be the second person in my family to go to a college/university. I come from a Mexican background so we are the first generation that was born in the United States.
We have seen so many things happen in our neighborhood and in our schools and that was the main reason I joined SCYEA. I want outsiders to know the nice places of LA. Not the negativity the media has brought to us. We are not all criminals, many of us don’t go out looking for trouble, trouble comes to us. Knowing that I can help my community and my school through this program made me want to be in it even more. I was excited to attend this organization since Alfred (youth organizer) came and introduced it to me in a classroom presentation. This is my community and I stand for it. Now thanks to CoCo and SCYEA I have been selected for a great opportunity. COIN is not only going to help me in my academics but also in my leadership. I’m giving back a little of what this community has given to me and I am anxious to see my future assignments.
I have many goals set for myself. First one is getting through high school. To elders it might not seem like much but it's a constant struggle. I want to become a great model for young Latina women. To let them know they can make it through life. I still don’t know what I want to be but when I get there I will know.
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