When it comes to personal commitment, Michael Noguera doesn\u2019t shy away from hard work.<\/p>\n
It was a hot August Saturday when he and his fellow first-year La Verne Law students arrived for a community service project at Mary Vagle Nature Center in Fontana. Noguera had already been up since first light, preparing to move his wife, three children and all their possessions from temporary accommodations in Rialto to an apartment near the law school\u2019s Ontario campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been in a hotel since we moved down from Modesto last Wednesday. I started packing the U-Haul early this morning\u201d said Noguera during a break in activity. \u201cAs soon as we\u2019re done here, I\u2019m going back to get things done and unload at the new apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it was suggested he had a good excuse for opting out of the service project, Noguera shook his head and offered his thoughts on the coordinated volunteer effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is awesome. We get to come out and bond and help out the community. That\u2019s what it\u2019s all about,\u201d he explained. \u201cOne of the tenets of the law school is about helping. I\u2019m excited to be here. It\u2019s not about how long the day is; I like helping out in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
La Verne Law administrators, faculty and staff joined with the 1Ls and transfers pitching in at the city-operated facility located in southern Fontana. Buoyed by high spirits and supplied with tools and directions from the center\u2019s staff, the assembled work crew spread mulch, weeded, cut back brush and trimmed brush.<\/p>\n
According to Tiffany Anderson, in her third year on staff at the center, the time put in by the law school volunteers will allow the city\u2019s landscape department to focus on other essential projects. This crew wasn\u2019t what she typically sees from most groups lending a hand at the popular community resource.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the time we\u2019ll have high school groups that are part of the school\u2019s environmental club,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cThe fact these students are going so far out of their comfort circle, helping the environment, shows widespread desire to do service throughout the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brook Bodart, a 1L enrolled in the evening program while working at the Center for Oral Health in Pomona, is involved with community service learning as part of her job. That gives her a great appreciation for the purpose of La Verne Law\u2019s service commitment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time a school can get involved in the community, it shows they have roots in the community and that they care about the community they serve,\u201d Bodart said. \u201cA lot of the law is about serving people. Anything you can do to assist them is wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n
While pleased with the day\u2019s turnout, Issac Carter said the effort is just the beginning of an expanded commitment to service at La Verne Law. In his first year as the law school\u2019s director of Student Affairs, he has plans to have monthly projects \u2013 Service Saturdays \u2013 where students, faculty and staff can take part in a variety of outreach options.<\/p>\n
Carter is challenging this year\u2019s student body to do 1,500 hours of service between now and the end of the 2015 spring term. That works out to 10 hours by each of the 150 enrolled. Next year he looks to doubled that with 3,000 hours total. By the time this year\u2019s 1L class is ready to graduate in spring 2017, he wants to have La Verne Law students up to 10,000 hours of community service and pro bono work combined.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese students are the future leaders. They are the people who are going to be establishing our laws and our rules and governing our society,\u201d Carter said. \u201cWe want students who understand and value the purpose of community. We\u2019re not after people who just want to receive honors. Most people we look up to and celebrate in life were givers. You don\u2019t have to be great or famous to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
As she searched the grounds for weeds, 1L Brenda Hernandez admitted this was not what she envisioned when deciding to study for her Juris Doctor two years after receiving a bachelor\u2019s in criminology from the 每日大赛. \u201cI never imagined this would be part of earning my J.D. But I love it,\u201d she said. \u201cJust to help the community makes each of us a better person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearby, Jendayi Saada, professor and assistant dean in charge of the Center for Academic Support & Bar Readiness, stepped back to admire the work she and others had done in pruning shrubs. It inspired her to speak of the direct relationship between the day\u2019s efforts and the role she and her fellow faculty members play in the students at La Verne Law.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it looks better. We made some order out of chaos,\u201d Saada said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like working with new students. They come in and are kind of chaotic. When they leave they are nice, orderly attorneys.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we are shaping them into really great members of the bar and larger society.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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