LASA begins with LA’s youth.
How do LA’s youth experience LA and how do they imagine LA’s future? LASA invites them to consider how they can be problem-solvers and visionaries of both the LA of today and of tomorrow.
Designed as a supplement to the regular school year, the Los Angeles Service Academy provides an intensive introduction to the infrastructure and institutions of greater Los Angeles for high school juniors who have expressed an interest in public, civic, and civil service.
Participants gain the experience and knowledge necessary to better understand the intricacies – infrastructural, historical, political, economic, and otherwise – of the region in which they live, and build lasting bonds of friendship, camaraderie, and work experience with a diverse group of peers.
LASA combines seminars, fieldwork and student engagement. Our hope is that, over time, LASA will change the lives and career paths of hundreds of high school students in the region and will become an agent of change and community building throughout Los Angeles.
Read about LASA in USC Dornsife Magazine: So L.A.
What should I expect?
Being part of LASA includes a four-day summer intensive in August before the start of your junior high school year, and one Saturday per month from September-November and January-May. When students commit to LASA, they are expected to be present and involved at all sessions.
Past LASA sessions include kayaking the LA River, visits to Mount Wilson Observatory, LAPD Rampart Station, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Metabolic Studio, LACMA, and the Port of Los Angeles. Previous speakers include Kelly Lytle-Hernandez, Professor of History at UCLA and research lead for the Million Dollar Hoods project; Raphael Sonenshein, Executive Director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at CSULA; Jeffrey Kightlinger, General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; and Dr. Cynthia Willard of the USC-Keck Human Rights Clinic.
How can I get involved?
We’d love to hear from you if:
- You are a teacher, college counselor, or otherwise involved with high schoolers and would like to nominate your rising junior students for our program,
- You are a student or a parent/guardian of a student who is interested in being part of our upcoming class, and are interested in the application process,
- You love what we’re doing as much as we do and would like to support our program. We’re always on the lookout for new speakers and places for our students to visit, and welcome all donations to help build our program.
Please contact us (Bill and Elizabeth) at lasa@huntington.org with any and all questions you may have.
Schools and programs involved, past and present:
Applied Technology Center (ATC), Blair High School, California Academy of Mathematics and Science (CAMS), Central City Value High School, Chadwick School, East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy (ELARA), Esteban Torres High School, Harvard-Westlake, LA County High School for the Arts (LACHSA), Larchmont Charter School, Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES), Loyola High School, Marlborough School, Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, New Roads School, Pacifica Christian High School, Pacific Hills School, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Polytechnic School, Ramona Convent Secondary School, San Fernando High School, Santa Monica High School, The Archer School for Girls, The Episcopal School of Los Angeles (ESLA), Valor Academy Charter High School, Viewpoint School, Vistamar School, YES scholars, homeschooled
Neighborhoods our students have come from:
Altadena, Baldwin Hills, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Boyle Heights, Burbank, Century City, Cheviot Hills, City Terrace, Commerce, Culver City, Eagle Rock, East Hollywood, East Los Angeles, Encino, Hancock Park, Harvard Heights, Hawthorne, Highland Park, Hollywood, Hyde Park, Inglewood, Koreatown, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Larchmont, Lawndale, Lennox, MacArthur Park, Montebello, Mount Washington, North Hollywood, Pacific Palisades, Pacoima, Panorama City, Pasadena, Pomona, Rancho Park, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, South Los Angeles, Tarzana, Venice, Westlake, Westwood