LIFESTYLE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2015
PAGE 17
Alumna speaks before Congress Marcia Hopkins spoke at a congressional briefing about issues facing youth in foster care. By MICHAELA WINBERG Assistant Lifestyle Editor When Marcia Hopkins spoke in front of Congress, everyone was listening. “Sometimes we don’t think that we get heard, but the work we did this summer did not [go] unnoticed,” said Hopkins, who was raised in the Philadelphia foster care system as a child. Hopkins spent eight years in foster care, and she went on to graduate with a master’s in social work from Temple last spring. This summer, she was one of 12 people chosen to be a
Foster Youth Intern for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in Washington, D.C. According to a press release by CCAI, “this assignment provides young adults who have been in the United States foster care system with an opportunity to intern in a congressional office and research issues affecting children in foster care across the country.” “I think that CCAI does a wonderful thing by essentially forcing those in power to hear from young adults about how foster care legislation has impacted our lives,” Hopkins said. “I felt honored that so many people came to hear us speak and really cared about our experiences and our issues.” After spending 10 weeks interning for Sen. Bob Casey and researching the foster care system, Hopkins presented a policy report to the members of Congress and child welfare advocates during a congressional
briefing on July 28. “It was truly an awesome experience to see how all the ‘magic’ happens in Congress,” Hopkins said. The topic of Hopkins’ policy
lieve we truly do foster youth a disservice by not preparing and supporting them for life after care.” She said speaking in front of Congress was “surreal.”
“It was truly an awesome experience to see how all the ‘magic’ happens in Congress.” Marcia Hopkins | master’s in social work graduate
report was foster youth aging out of care and experiencing homelessness. “Every year over 23,000 youth are emancipated from care without the necessary support to sustain themselves … and I find this very disheartening,” Hopkins said. “Many of them experience homelessness as a result, which I believe no child ... should ever have to experience. I be-
While Hopkins was working toward her master’s degree at Temple, her brother, foster parent and grandmother passed away, which made achieving her degree especially challenging. “My time studying at Temple was rigorous, but wonderful,” Hopkins said. “I found great support from my friends and great professors who
really helped me to stay focused and keep my eye on the prize, my degree.” Since receiving her master’s degree, Hopkins also interned for the Juvenile Law Center, an organization focused on creating opportunity for children in foster care and the juvenile justice system. Hopkins said she’s considering law school or pursuing her MBA, but first wants to continue working in the field and helping youth in foster care directly. “My experience at the congressional briefing was humbling and had me in awe,” Hopkins said. “While nothing happens overnight, it gave me the boost I needed to really feel like I’m making a difference for other youth like us, those in care.” * michaela.winberg@temple.edu ( 215.204.7416
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OIC
JENNY KERRIGAN TTN
Dr. Kevin R. Johnson, the president of OIC, sits in his office. OIC, a non-profit organization, offers community members job training, as well as access to computers and other resources. Johnson has been president since January of 2015.
JENNY KERRIGAN TTN
OIC, a non-profit organization located at 1231 N. Broad Street, provides classes and hands-on training in tourism and hospitality as part of their mission to provide job opportunities to community members.
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PEW
that others created. I wanted to create my own movements and forms.” Now, Soto is looking to reinvent herself. “I want to perform more, and I am expanding into exhibition and video,” Soto said. This reinvention includes Soto’s reconstruction of her performance altar, Todos Mis Muertos, which will be shown at Fleisher Art Memorial in Bella Vista for the Day of the Dead. She’ll present an exhibition of videos at IMPeRFeCT Gallery in Germantown this November. Ijames said that receiving a Pew Fellowship for playwriting was surreal. “The major thing that gleamed from [the Pew Fellowship] was a sense of, ‘I’m
doing the right thing,’” Ijames said. “I’m not deluding myself. I actually am doing what I’m supposed to be doing.” Ijames said that Philadelphia is his “home base.” After graduating with his Master of Fine Arts from Temple in 2006, Ijames has acted in and written plays in Philadelphia, become a tenure-track professor at Villanova University and started a playwright-producing organization called Orbiter 3. Though Ijames was recognized by the Pew Center, he said he “still has a lot of work to do as an artist.” He hopes that in the next couple of years, his play-writing will move to a more national platform. “I have to keep reminding myself that this is a fellowship about an artist at a moment in time,” Ijames said. “It’s not about arrival.” * michaela.winberg@temple.edu
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about the work being done there, in an effort to build a closer relationship. “Temple is really a neighbor,” Johnson said. “It is open and it’s a beginning conversation that Dr. Theobald and I will continue to have.” Olga Palashnyuk, the employment development specialist for Philadelphia OIC, believes Temple’s close proximity is perfect for Temple students to get involved in a way that can help OIC participants beyond just getting them a job. “I think that that sense of empowerment really just struck me as, ‘Wow, these are the kinds of things OIC can do,’” Palashnyuk said. “I think that’s what [OIC founder] Leon Sullivan would’ve wanted. He had a burning in his heart for helping people help themselves—that’s our motto—and he made it happen.” Sullivan’s role in Philadelphia’s history is vast, as he is the namesake of Sullivan Progress Plaza, which includes Fresh Grocer and Citizens Bank, in addition to presiding over Zion Baptist Church on Broad and Venango streets from 1950 to 1988. But the key descriptor of Sullivan would be how he was “ahead of his time” in terms of giving opportunities to struggling residents, Jay said. With hospitality job courses like room housekeeping and culinary arts, OIC students are prepared to work in the food and hotel industries after nine- and 16-week programs, respectively. Jay, the life skills coach for Opportunities Inn, guides students with everything from holding mock interviews to teaching proper attitudes and teamwork—things they need in order to secure themselves a solid career. Chalie Schmidt, the chef
instructor for Opportunities Inn and former adjunct professor for Temple’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, has been “building” cooks with OIC for 20 years. The way he sees it, he has a responsibility of using his years of culinary experience to help his students build a relationship with the restaurant community even after graduation. “So it really is beyond just the contractual obligation of getting people hired, it’s also helping them continue
are people “whoThere come here who may have given up on themselves...but here at OIC, we help to restore hope. Dr. Kevin R. Johnson | president of OIC
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with their careers—it’s careerbuilding,” Schmidt said. With help from funding, Johnson also has plans in implementing programs that would provide students with jobs in other industries like energy, construction and manufacturing. Besides these traditional jobs though, his vision also calls for getting students involved in the technology field, with hopes of starting OIC’s first-ever coding boot camp and creating co-working spaces to encourage tech entrepreneurship. * albert.hong@temple.edu ( 215.204.7416 T @AtotheHONG