Kate Rubalcava, a senior at the U in political science, joined forces with U alumni and the Neighborhood Partners program in a volunteer effort to promote higher education among residents of West Salt Lake on June 14.
At the Carnival at the Park Kickoff Extravaganza volunteers cooked hamburgers, painted faces and made cotton candy for West Salt Lake residents.
Rubalcava, a West Salt Lake native, said she loves living in and helping with her community.
“There’s nothing greater than working with the people you live with because you learn so much from them.”
The program, which began about three years ago, was started in order to develop programs for youth education, give access to information and resources needed to obtain a higher education and enable community leadership among residents living in West Salt Lake neighborhoods. “It creates partnerships to get important things done,” said Irene Fisher, director of Neighborhood Partners.
One program class teaches adult community leadership skills so interested residents can develop an effective plan to solve certain problems that arise in their neighborhood. Those who complete the course are invited to a graduation ceremony at the U.
Neighborhood Partners have a Web site forum called the Info Corner at www.partners.utah.edu that offers copies of U applications, course studies and a brochure for the Utah Mentor program that helps interested residents plan and pay for college.