Vol. 1, No. 1 | Spring 2002
Jesse then, with other sixth graders in the Riverside Trolley UC Links program, 1996-1997. Jesse is in the first standing row, second from the left. Mara Welsh is in the last row, third from the right.
YOUTH VIEWS
When the Riverside Trolley UC Links program opened in 1996, Jesse Paulos was a sixth grader at Highland Elementary School. He joined the Trolley after-school program, which was coordinated by Professor Sharon Duffy (Education, UC Riverside), Professor Mary Gauvain (Psychology, UC Riverside), graduate student Mara Welsh (Psychology, UC Riverside), sixth grade teacher Russ Plewe (Highland Elementary School), technology coordinator Dave Hubbard (Highland Elementary School), and principal Tena Petix (Highland Elementary School). Jesse and his friends worked on educational computer software with UC Riverside undergraduates. Riverside Trolley activities are organized around the theme of transportation; participants follow "Trolley lines" to "stops" where they choose their next activity.
Jesse is now an eleventh grader at North High School in Riverside, California, where he is enrolled in the demanding International Baccalaureate program and is the captain of the swim team and a member of the water polo team. He's also an active member of his church, and he has a part-time job working with UC Links staff and researchers at UC Riverside.
In March, 2002, Mara Welsh (who earned her doctorate at UC Riverside and is now a member of the UC Links Statewide Office) and Newsletter Editor Chalon Emmons talked to Jesse and asked him what he's up to now.
Growing up with UC Links
An Interview with Jesse Paulos
Mara and Chalon: Tell us about your job.
Jesse: I do data entry. I enter data from observation forms from the UC Links programs at Highland Elementary School, Taft Elementary School, and the Cybrary [a branch of the Riverside Public Library that offers access to computer technology to young people who live in a low-income neighborhood].
M & C: How did you get the job?
J: Sharon [Duffy] needed someone…I'm not really sure how!
M & C: How long have you had the job?
J: I began in the summer of 1999.
M & C: Do you like it?
J: Yes! I get to work in an air-conditioned office. I get to type and do computer stuff. I get to work with one of the most wonderful people I know, Regina [Hazlinger, coordinator for UC Links programs at UC Riverside]. It's a great environment. My grandma works in the same office building.
M & C: What do you like to do in your free time?
J: Download music, watch TV, babysit my nephew, play pool, hang out with my friends.
M & C: What do you think you got out of participating in the Riverside Trolley UC Links program when you were in sixth grade?
J: I love technology and computers. The program was really beneficial for me in school and I think it will help in future jobs. In UC Links, I learned how to use PowerPoint, how to do word processing, and how to use technology for school projects. In my literature class last year, my friend and I imported video and added effects for a presentation about one of the books we were reading. My teacher was really impressed.
M & C: What are your plans for the future?
J: I want to go to college and then become a computer engineer. I set up all the computers and the printers for the Taft Elementary School UC Links program. I also fix the network there. I enjoy working with hardware more than software. Each computer is different, and problem-solving is fun. One of my friends is into computers, too. But he's a Macintosh guy, and I'm a PC guy, so we get into arguments!
M & C: Where do you want to go to college?
J: Somewhere in California, probably a UC campus. I don't want to go too far from home. My grandma asks me if I'm thinking about UC Riverside just about every day. I'm also considering UC Santa Barbara and Stanford.
M & C: If you go to a UC campus, you would be able to take a UC Links class and work with a UC Links after-school program.
J: That's cool. UC Links is a great program that gets kids involved with computers. I wish computers were more available—I wish there were more places like the Cybrary. At my high school, the computer lab hasn't been available for the last year and a half because of remodeling, so kids who want to work with computers need to find someplace else.
M & C: What are the most exciting things that have ever happened to you?
J: My sister having her baby. Getting my driver's license. And at the end of eighth grade, I was one of two students chosen to get the Principal's award.
M & C: Thanks for talking with us, Jesse. Good luck.
Jesse now, with Ginger the dog.
La Clase Mágica: New Communities of Learners
HumaniFest Online: Linking Humanities Out There and the Whittier Fifth Dimension
The Magical Web Fifth Dimension
Digital Storytelling in West Oakland
Brianna Guillermo-Newton, Miranda Cheang, and Robyn Rachac
Links for Kids
How to Make Links: Social Capital and Community-University Collaboration
Youth Views
Growing up with UC Links: An Interview with Jesse Paulos