Natasha Mizrahi

Student

“Children are our future, and we have a responsibility to give them skills. Ultimately, the best thing anyone can give them is time.”

Natasha’s surname, Mizrahi, is a Hebrew word meaning “from the east.” Indeed, her grandparents came to America from as far east the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. And while this doesn’t automatically qualify Natasha as a “Rhodes” scholar, her accomplishments as an SMC summer intern did result in some very positive academic recognition.

“I just received a scholarship into the drug and alcohol studies program at Loyola Marymount,” says Natasha. “Loyola had learned about my experience at SMC as an intern, and I think they were impressed by my enthusiasm in the field. I received a tremendous education during my internship, and I got to see—in a real hands-on way—what’s really going on in our community.” And “hands-on” to Natasha means the work she performed and the lessons she learned at Project Heavy West.

“My primary focus was in working with youth,” she reports. “But I also got a wide variety of experience that ranged from parent education to graffiti removal, from organizing job banks and seminars to teaching people how to dress for an interview, how to fill out applications and basically acquire the skills that could get them a good job.” But perhaps most importantly, Natasha gained insight into how people of all races can begin to make real progress together.

“I was working in the Mar Vista projects,” she recalls. “And I wasn’t sure how I would be accepted: a young, white, preppy-looking female. But a lot of the women who came to the drug education program said to me, ‘Hey, Natasha. You’re all right!’ And I really felt accepted and that I could help people feel that they’re valuable.”

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