The People of Surfrider

On Saturday I participated in the One Piece At a Time beach clean up located at the Belmont Swimming Pool on Termino Ave.  This was a three hour beach clean-up so you can imagine my excitement.  Fortunately for me, I met up with with some familiar faces, classmates, which made the three hour extravaganza a bit easier. 

I talked to Enrique Villegas, a Criminal Justice major and got to know a little bit about him.  Villegas works for a Youth Employment Opportunity Program (YEOP) where he helps at risk youth reach their occupational and educational goals through means of case management.

Enrique not only helps the youth but also helps keep the beaches clean

I also talked to Renee Sanchez a Psychology major who has aspirations of becoming an Art Psychologist.  "I want to use this form of Psychology to help children with autism." She wants to use art as a mean to help these kids in terms of improving their motor skills.

Sanchez's grandmother came along to help with the beach cleaning.  I was surprised when I noticed that her bag was kind of heavy.  I looked inside and noticed that all this woman put in the bag was seaweed and sticks.

Here is the clip that shows how these cleanups can be fun.  (no birds were harmed)

I think I've come along way these over these past few weeks.  I went from a student that wasn't to thrilled that he was forced into community service, to someone that would not trade this experience for anything.  I talked to interesting people, was taught some discipline, and learned something about life and myself.  Yes, waking up on Saturday mornings was a struggle, but the prize was worth it.