MLK Service Day

This video is from one of our AmeriCorps member, Jesse Childs. He took a camera and conducted a video of BAYAC/OCASA members on MLK day of service. He did an amazing job.

Playground Build

Check out this awesome video of the playground build that we did back in October @ Youth Uprising in Oakland!

Heather, East Palo Alto Academy High School

This year has been nothing short of transformative for me.  As a recent college graduate from Stanford, I was looking for a way to spend a year before graduate school that would allow me to both have a great job and be “walking the walking” of public service. Of the many options that I explored, I was very fortunate to be hired by East Palo Academy as a corps member and special needs paraprofessional. I came in to this job, as a eager but shy kid who was still sorting out my future, and trying to find that balance between life and work.  I will be graduating July, a confident, focused women prepared to enter the world of education as a Stanford Teacher in Education student, and Annenberg Teaching Fellow. Both my admittance to STEP and my fellowship can, in large part, be credited to my work with BAYAC this year. I will carry the things I have learned this year with me for the rest of my professional life.

Read more: Heather, East Palo Alto Academy High School

Geoff, East Palo Alto Academy High School

I think it’s fair to say that when I first got the call to come work for BAYAC, I was very nervous. I had just found out that I was going to be offered another job, one that would allow me to also work with youth, be paid more, and one that was closer to where I was living. On top of that, I was going to be working with kids from East Palo Alto, a place where in high school, and even today, has a reputation of being a very dangerous area. However, after talking to my parents, I realized the great opportunity that I was being presented by coming to work for BAYAC, both for personal and professional growth. Through my experience this year, I have seen how wrong stereotypes can be and so fortunate to have worked with students who have changed my life.

Read more: Geoff, East Palo Alto Academy High School

Ashley, San Jose/Peninsula Team

Of all the experiences in my life I feel that BAYAC has presented me with the opportunity to overcome some of the biggest obstacles as well as achive the greatest rewards. I currently am serving at a non-profit organization called the Bill Wilson Center which serves thousands of people in Santa Clara County specifically serving homeless youth. Working with the homeless and at-risk youth has taught me a lot about what is truly important in life and how small actions can truly make a huge difference in another person’s life.

Read more: Ashley, San Jose/Peninsula Team

BAYAC 2009

Here's a video made about BAYAC in 2009.