Students spending the spring semester in the University’s Dick Clark Los Angeles Program arrived in California in early January. Their first order of business was to attend orientation activities beginning Jan. 6 and acclimate to the Los Angeles area. Soon, they were immersed in the community in a way they never could not have imagined.
On Jan. 7, wildfires erupted in the greater Los Angeles area. Two fires in particular—the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire—burned for more than three weeks, destroying thousands of homes and causing billions of dollars in damages.
Newhouse Los Angeles Program Director Robin Howard and students Emily Schultz, Eli Katz and Jarod Struminger at a donation center
The nearly 70 Syracuse University students in Los Angeles were safe throughout the situation. “We were quite far from both of the fires, so we were fortunate in terms of both where the center is and where the students were living,” says Anna Proulx, visual and performing arts program director for the Dick Clark Los Angeles Program.
Although it was an unsettling time, the students were amazed and moved by how local communities came together to support each other—and they wanted to be a part of that. Students and staff were soon working alongside community members in the wildfire recovery efforts.
Donation centers began popping up around the community, collecting clothing, diapers and baby items, pet supplies, furniture and other things that families would need to reestablish a home. Proulx and Newhouse LA Program Director Robin Howard had already discussed ways students could help, especially since community engagement and volunteering is an important part of the LA experience for students.
Student Tommy Tyree assists at a donation center
“We’ve always, since the beginning, made community engagement a requirement of the program,” says Howard. “Students have to give back to the city, and they choose what they want to do. In the past, they’ve read to kids, cleaned up beaches and put boxes together for military families. It’s in the DNA of what we do here. It was not a far reach to mobilize and help these families.”
Proulx took a group of students to work at a donation center. The amount of donations was overwhelming, so the first step was to help organize the donations into categories and then develop a cohesive distribution system.
Howard then took a group to a follow-up event where families came to choose items they needed. Students acted as personal shoppers, helping to carry and organize the items. Beyond offering physical help, they provided emotional support, too—a reassuring smile for those impacted by the tragic fires. Students also volunteered at another donation event on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Emily Bosco, a junior television, radio and film major from Verona, New Jersey, says the fires made the first few days of her LA semester a little concerning. “Coming from the East Coast, I had never experienced wildfires before and did not really have any knowledge of how fast they spread,” she says.
Students Emily Bosco and Isabella Giacoppo ready to lend a helping hand
“I volunteered because I wanted to be able to give back to the community in which I am living for the next few months,” Bosco says. “While I was fortunate enough to not be impacted, I knew that many people in the area were, and I wanted to help out in any way that I could.”
In her volunteer work, Bosco managed a bag station, where she helped organize and sort handbags, purses, backpacks and tote bags. She also worked as a personal shopper.
“I will carry this experience forward with me,” Bosco says. “It felt really good to be able to help people who were in need and help to make their day a little bit easier when they were already going through so much. I will always try to volunteer to help others in need in the future.”
Isabella Giacoppo, a junior television, radio and film major from Long Island, New York, volunteered to better understand the situation and learn how she could assist those impacted.
“I wanted to help because people lost everything, so it was the least I could do,” she says. “I’ll carry this experience forward with me by being more grateful for the things I have. As I have seen through this experience, everything can be lost in an instant.”
Howard and Proulx say the recovery from the fires will stretch well into the future, and they will continue to look for ways for students in the LA program to be involved. They are proud of how the students succeeded in their academic studies and internships while simultaneously showing care and concern for their adopted community.
“A few of the students have mentioned it brought them together as a community. I think it will be a defining experience for this semester for them. Obviously, it’s been a defining experience for us as a city,” Proulx says. “Los Angeles has a beautiful, wonderful community and this has highlighted that for sure. The students have seen and felt that.”
Howard agrees, noting how students saw a need and were inspired to support their new community. “It’s really a tribute to our students, their resilience and their kindness,” Howard says.
