{"id":1511,"date":"2025-06-12T10:09:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T17:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/lasa\/?page_id=1511"},"modified":"2025-07-10T09:56:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T16:56:29","slug":"about-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/lasa\/about\/about-2\/","title":{"rendered":"About LASA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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\n LASA begins with LA\u2019s youth.\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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How do LA\u2019s youth experience LA and how do they imagine LA\u2019s future? LASA invites them to consider how they can be problem-solvers and visionaries of both the LA of today and of\u00a0tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n

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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.<\/p>\n

Participants gain the experience and knowledge necessary to better understand the intricacies \u2013 infrastructural, historical, political, economic, and otherwise \u2013 of the region in which they live, and build lasting bonds of friendship, camaraderie, and work experience with a diverse group of peers.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0region and will become an agent of change and community building throughout Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Read about LASA in USC Dornsife Magazine:\u00a0So L.A.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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What should I expect?<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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How can I get involved?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We\u2019d love to hear from you if:<\/em><\/p>\n