Live Good is honored to be partnering with Nicholas Academic Centers. Please share about the history of this impactful organization and all that it does for our community.

Although the NAC has only existed since 2008, an informal version of our program existed in the 80s and 90s. It was the idea of our Co-Founder, the late Judge Jack Mandel (The Judge)— he lived by the Jewish philosophy Tikkun Olam, which is of the belief that we must recognize that we live in a broken society and as citizens of this world, if we have the ability to, we should repair the world, give back, be of service to others. One day after leaving the bench in downtown Santa Ana, the Judge saw a group of kids doing their homework while sitting on the curb in front of a school. He inquired with the kids as to why they weren’t at the library, to which they responded that the school was closed and they had nowhere else to go. At the time Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) was going through some changes and they had to make some budget cuts, which included cutting hours of the school library. Upon learning this, The Judge being who he was, set out to find a space for youth. So he set up a meeting with the then SAUSD Superintendent— and at the end of that meeting, he had convinced them to leave the school library open until at least 30 minutes after school ended so it gave the Judge enough time to leave work and get to the library in time to keep it open. The Judge would then keep the Santa Ana High School Library open until the early evenings. There he would tutor and mentor over a hundred kids. At times, the Judge’s wife, Judy, would also provide snacks to the students to help them reenergize for the afternoon. The Judge would also talk to the   students about college— several of those students moved on to pursue higher education. And while those students were completing their college degrees, he would visit those individuals to make sure they were doing well. If they needed anything such as winter clothing for those who ended up in places where it snowed, he’d purchase those supplies for them.  Not only did the Judge give his time, but also his personal money to those who really needed it— he changed the course of their lives. And as a result several of those individuals returned to Santa Ana and other communities, as college graduates, and helped continue to empower their communities as social workers, lawyers, educators and other professionals.

Then in 2007, a lawyer friend of the Judge introduced him to our other Co-Founder, Dr. Henry T. Nicholas, who provided him with the financial help in order for the Judge to continue mentoring the youth of Santa Ana. Everything the Judge did then, are now services that we provide to all of our NAC Scholars. He truly believed that if given the financial opportunity and providing the resources necessary, the youth of Santa Ana can succeed. The NAC has been in existence since 2008 and we have over 1,800 alumni of the program, with the majority of students being of Latinx descent and 97% first generation college students. That is 1,800 kids whose lives have had a positive impact— and in turn will impact others.

You have held many leadership positions at Nicholas Academic Centers. What do you love most about your current role as the Director of Operations and Events?

As a college student and theater major, I was highly influenced by events such as the Chicano (theater) movement, and most recently, the V-Day movement.

I wanted to produce work that not only entertained but had a message, an educational experience, if you will.

Looking back at the work I’ve done, they’ve all shared a common goal of being of service to others. As a Director of Operations and Events, my role allows me to work behind the scenes to make sure all of our students and their guests feel honored and welcomed. It’s a position that involves many tasks and, sometimes, nights of little sleep. But seeing the students beaming at our Annual Graduation Ceremony or their parents’ proud faces as they receive their diploma and college sweatshirts makes the stress worth it.

Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up and why are you so passionate about education and working with young people?

I grew up in both Garden Grove and Santa Ana with my parents and three siblings. My parents are originally from Mexico. Neither of them had college degrees nor wealth, so my parents had to work long hours to keep our family going— my father delivered milk and other dairy products in the community and my mother was in housekeeping. My dad worked seven days a week, which meant we couldn’t spend much time with him outside of birthdays and holidays. But we knew he was always there, and he’d find small ways to let us know he loved us. My mom, even if she have work, would find a way to make it to our events, be they school recitals, games, banquets or anything else. To this day, I have no idea how she did it, but she was always present and involved with us. Both of my parents loved us fervently. Though we had our struggles, we were definitely blessed to be in a household filled with love.

My parents did not have the opportunity to finish school— my mom left school during third grade because her father died young and she had to help her mom, and my dad could only finish high school and couldn’t go to college because he needed to work. They were very much aware of the benefits of completing education. My parents pushed us to do well in school and instilled in us humility and gratitude, reminding us that we were very fortunate that we could even attend school and go further. Also, they gave us the freedom to decide what we wanted to study, so long as it made us happy and we worked hard. So that certainly stuck with me throughout my journey.

But I also wasn’t blind to society and it’s inequities. I was fortunate that my parents taught us about the importance of an education because in school, it wasn’t as present. We didn’t have classes or programs like the NAC. In college, those inequities were only reaffirmed while learning more of the Civil Rights era, the Chicano Movement and other movements. I chose to not become a statistic— but not everyone had that opportunity. It’s by acknowledging this that I began to feel called to work in service of others with less opportunities than myself.

While in college, I had great role models who invested a lot of time in me. They empowered me to believe in myself by providing learning opportunities to continue to develop my talents. Because of their influence, I felt a strong desire to work in service of others, and eventually I applied to work as a teacher’s aide. In my role, I had the opportunity to work with college freshmen. And that moment changed me even if I didn’t see it then.

Fast forward to after college, I continued to work with youth, first at a youth home for the historically underserved, and then with the NAC where I have remained for almost 11 years. I work with a very passionate group of people and in them, I see the great potential, a better world that I know will come to fruition but only if we continue to invest time in our youth and of course the work that allow others to become empowered.