History of the Club and Contributions
Essp sponsors believe that students of Elac are clearly as diligent as students at other colleges and universities, yet they are often compelled by their circumstances to overcome much more adversity than students at other schools. Essp members work together to overcome to help students by sharing information and serving as role models once they accomplish their goals.
East Side Spirit and Pride Today
Today, East Side Spirit and Pride involves dozens of students, faculty, and staff every semester. In addition, ESSP has a board of directors of nineteen members most of whom are former ESSP members as well as graduates of East Los Angeles College. The club holds regular meetings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. ESSP also regularly features motivational speakers, generally former students of East Los Angeles College who have now graduated from four year universities and sometimes local celebrities, including Chase Masterson, actress, Luis J. Rodriguez, a Mexican-American native of East Los Angeles and famous author of the book Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., and congresswoman Judy Chu both honored at ESSP's annual scholarship dinner. The club also routinely hosts tours to various neighboring universities, such as Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Los Angeles, UCLA, USC, Occidental and Loyola Marymount University, where students have the opportunity to frequent campus grounds and explore possible options for their higher education.
The club also has interactive and informative discussions concerning procedures and important things-to-know relating to transferring to four-year universities in California, primarily the UCs, CSUs, and private universities such as USC. The club consists of over fifty members, a board of directors of nineteen members, an associate board, a faculty/staff committee as well as chapters of trustees throughout Southern California. The club has welcomed UCLA graduate and English professor Nancy Ramirez as co-sponsor of the club. Also joining ESSP are parents and players from West Hills Baseball, CA, who have partnered to help with the ESSP scholarship dinner and golf tournament to help raise funds for ELAC students.
The club also has interactive and informative discussions concerning procedures and important things-to-know relating to transferring to four-year universities in California, primarily the UCs, CSUs, and private universities such as USC. The club consists of over fifty members, a board of directors of nineteen members, an associate board, a faculty/staff committee as well as chapters of trustees throughout Southern California. The club has welcomed UCLA graduate and English professor Nancy Ramirez as co-sponsor of the club. Also joining ESSP are parents and players from West Hills Baseball, CA, who have partnered to help with the ESSP scholarship dinner and golf tournament to help raise funds for ELAC students.
The founder of the Club
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Professor Dennis Sanchez, an alumnus of the University of Southern California and San Francisco State University found his occupational satisfaction in coming to East Los Angeles College and serving as an English professor because he wanted to give back to the community. He felt that students in ELAC were equally diligent as students at other community colleges, yet they were compelled by their circumstances to overcome much more adversity and sorrows. Therefore, he established East Side Spirit and Pride so that students of the college could develop a veracious sense of pride in their community and heritage.
East Side Spirit and Pride was a major advocate for the restoration football team at ELAC when football had been eliminated due to budgetary constraints. Professor Sanchez along with the East Side Spirit and Pride members instigated the idea of the creation of a marching band, which could help pervade a sense of high-spirits and joy regarding East Los Angeles College. ESSP collaborated with the President of the college, Ernest Moreno, for the achievement of this objective, making ELAC, one of only three colleges in the entire state of California with a marching band during the time. To this day, the marching band has played an integral role in the atmosphere of the college and regularly performs during special occasions, such as football games and the annual commencement ceremony. |
