Central Los Angeles : College Resource Center Opens

With some help from a new East Los Angeles resource center, 15-year-old Vanessa Martinez says she intends to be college bound in a few years.

“I am getting information about what I need to apply for colleges here,” Martinez said at the opening of the Educational Resource Center, which is operated by TELACU--The East Los Angeles Community Union.

Martinez, a ninth-grader at Huntington Park High School, is a participant in Upward Bound, a college preparation program designed for low-income students.

On Tuesday, about 200 educators, students and lawmakers celebrated the facility’s opening in ceremonies held at Tamayo restaurant, across the street from the center.

“It’s going to be our youth that need to step in to fill the vacuum of teachers, engineers, CEOs, lawyers and social workers,” state Sen. Richard Polanco said at the event, attended by more than 50 students from Franklin, Garfield, Huntington Park and Roosevelt high schools.

The 2,500-square-foot center includes a computer lab to access information from more than 3,300 colleges, wooden bookcases filled with college guides, two classrooms, a lunch room and offices for counseling and tutoring services.

The TELACU Education Foundation received a four-year, $2-million federal grant for two Upward Bound programs: one for the high school students and one for military veterans.

The facility, at 5400 E. Olympic Blvd., is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.