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August 26, 1999
Program seeks to aid HispanicsU of M internsparticipate incommunity-based programBY SARA SYVERSON Journal Staff Writer SLEEPY EYE -- Nine interns from the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts, (CLA) are working this summer in a bilingual pilot project that seeks to enrich the lives of area Hispanics. Participants in the Greater Minnesota Internship Program have set up English tutoring opportunities for children and adults, established parenting education classes and led human rights workshops. They collaborated to provide activities for children and taught basic Spanish to local agencies. "It's a community learning and service oriented program," said Maria Alejandra Reyes, coordinator of the Greater Minnesota Internship Program. "The benefit is that the students get outside the city. They go out and experience real life." Last Friday, some of the interns led activities for 27 children at the Brown County Extension Service in Sleepy Eye. The event also involved the Community Connector program. The interns got their summer jobs through the Office of Special Learning Opportunities (OSLO) of the University of Minnesota. Student interns worked with the U of M Extension Service and the Community Connector program in Brown County as well as other counties. "This first year has been a great learning experience for us (CLA, OSLO, the Extension Service, Community Connectors and the interns), we hope we can do it again next year," said Reyes. Reyes is working toward a master's degree at the U of M in Teaching English as a Second Language. She works also with OSLO, CLA and Extension. The nine CLA student interns have studied Spanish as part of their curriculum at the university. Sam Edelstein, who is originally from Mexico and is one of the interns, provides leadership assistance to two El Salvadorans in Madelia. These two men are in the beginning stages of establishing an Alcoholics Anonymous group in Madelia. "These two guys from El Salvador wanted to start a Double A group in Spanish, but they just didn't have the resources," said Edelstein, "It's been really exciting working on it. It will just take perseverance." The AA group has had two meetings so far with three people attending the first meeting and a few more at the second meeting, according to Teresa Hernandez, Community Connector/Family Assistant in St. James, Watonwan County and Brown County. Hernandez and a few others began working on the AA project in Madelia approximately a year ago. "I was very fortunate to have Sam's help and the help of the University of Minnesota CLA. Without their help we wouldn't have gotten so much done as fast as we did," said Hernandez. "This program fits perfectly with the new mission of the Extension Service: 'Connecting community needs and University resources,'" said Patricia Stoppa, Brown County Extension Educator. Stoppa is also involved in coordinating the O.K. Kids Club, which provides educational programs and opportunities to under privileged children in Brown County. Leaders of the O.K. Kids Club attempt to have a monthly activity planned for children. "This Greater Minnesota Internship Program is a very good example of this collaboration from all of these different groups. The O.K. Kids Club, Brown County agencies, businesses, Community Connectors and interns from the Greater Minnesota Internship Program are all here today and represented in different ways," said Stoppa. The Greater Minnesota Internship program is funded through the CLA at the university and the Extension Service. For more information on these programs and the AA group in Spanish, or if you would like to host a bilingual intern, contact Teresa Hernandez or Patricia Stoppa 1-800-450-7993.
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