The Culture Keepers program is a 7-week summer program for high school students ages 14 to 18 that teaches them about East Palo Alto’s history, how to conduct oral histories, and how to interview family members and East Palo Alto community members. This year’s cohort included nine Culture Keepers, two of whom were program leads last year: Ashley Mobley and Khrisar Magana-Chavez. The other Culture Keepers were Regina Alcazar, Vicky Estrada, Joshua Luengas, Dyland Leocadio Rosas, Flavio Pacheco, Erick Vargas, and Angelica Whitted. Additionally, Jose Martinez Luna, an alumnus of last year’s Culture Keepers program, supported this year’s cohort. He wasn’t able to join as a full participant this year because he landed an internship at Meta, something he credits to the skills he built through the program, but he still came back for events and to help students with camera/video training and video editing.
The goal is for students to learn East Palo Alto’s history directly from the interviews, the guest speakers who came to talk with the students throughout the program, and the Archive itself. This summer, there were nine EPACA honorees, and each of the nine students was assigned one honoree to interview, along with one community member and one family member. This summer’s theme was “Belonging,” and the students’ work built all summer toward the Culture Keeper’s Showcase, held on Tuesday, July 28, and its theme, “We Belong Here.”
Earlier in the program, on July 7, students took a field trip to the San Mateo County History Museum so they could see what a physical archive looks like and how artifacts are preserved and displayed, an experience that shaped how they approached presenting their own interviews and the Showcase.
The Showcase ran from 6:00 to 8:00 PM and began with registration, food, and a gallery walk featuring each student’s original poem and portfolio. The poem was inspired by Dreams of a City, a documentary about East Palo Alto, and drew on themes from the Langston Hughes poem. The portfolio included why they chose to be a Culture Keeper, what inspired them this summer, and a description of each interviewee with their photograph and a reflection on what the student learned from the interview. After the gallery walk, guests played a BINGO game based on East Palo Alto locations, earning raffle tickets for a giveaway. This was followed by remarks from East Palo Alto Community Archive staff members, and then presentations where each student showed clips from their interviews. After the presentations, , and the evening closed with a raffle giveaway of I ❤ EPA merch.
The Culture Keepers are grateful to the East Palo Alto Community Archive staff Imelda Rodriquez-Benavides, Program Assistant, who ran the Culture Keeper program; Sharifa Wilson, Executive Director; Dr. Omowale Satterwhite, Board Chair; Meda Okelo, Oral History Coordinator; and Barbara Noparstak, Records Manager and to our contributors—the City of East Palo Alto, Bloomhouse, EPACENTER, and I ❤ EPA—for their support throughout the internship.
The following are reflections from each of this year’s Culture Keepers written the last days of the program.
Angelica Whitted
Being a Culture Keeper was an honor for me. It helped me open up more and step out of my comfort zone. Getting to meet new people and hear their stories was an amazing experience. During this internship, I learned so much, including public speaking, how to use a camera, and even how to edit videos.
One of my favorite parts of this experience was the friendships I made. Our Culture Keepers group was supportive, hardworking, and always encouraged one another. A month ago, Ashley (our lead), Vicky, Dyland, and I went to Great America. It was a fun trip, but it also gave us the chance to grow closer as a team. I gained confidence, learned the importance of showing up for others, and created memories that I will always remember. I truly appreciate Barbara, Sharifa, Imelda, and everyone who supports the archive. Thank you for welcoming me and giving me the opportunity to be part of something meaningful. This internship has been an unforgettable journey, and I hope more people get the chance to experience it like I did.
The last seven weeks went by so fast, but they were very informative. Learning about East Palo Alto’s history through the archive is what excited me the most. Getting to know the honorees was also an amazing experience because some of them grew up facing challenges similar to ours, such as negative influences or traumatic experiences. Seeing how they overcame those obstacles and made a positive impact on the community was truly inspiring.
I hope to carry what I learned from this internship with me throughout my future career. One thing I will always take away from this experience is the importance of building bonds with your community and getting to know your neighbors. Strong relationships can make a difference, and I want to continue making a positive impact wherever I go.
Ashley Mobley
As a second-time Culture Keeper, I can’t say that I could be any more pleased with my experience this year– from the cohort to our impact, I am amazed at what we’ve accomplished. This is my first time being a lead for such an important program. I took on leadership responsibilities that were group-oriented–ranging from revising emails for my colleagues to helping them record their interviews. Being a lead in all of this has been a rewarding experience, but like many leadership roles, it came with many challenges. Working around/with things like time management for my entire group to ensure they stayed on schedule, that they submitted all of their forms, or even miscommunications with my peers and adults were all a part of my journey as a lead. In the end, I found it rewarding because it gave me a new perspective on guidance, patience, understanding, and accountability.
In the future, it’s an absolute must that I pursue a career that centers people—that centers giving people like me a more fair chance at their dreams. But more narrowly, social justice is my calling. In my opinion, giving power to the people is the first and most crucial step in creating desired, necessary change. By giving people a voice, you are giving them the power to change narratives meant to oppress their autonomy, which challenges their ability to accomplish anything as a community. Thus, this internship is the first step in my career of making change within my people. Given that I’m making a difference within my community through my work as a Culture Keeper, I was especially excited to pick exclusively Black women to interview. It brings me joy to uplift my distinct community in a way that allows them to be their authentic selves and represent us as a whole. In all, being a Culture Keeper this year has been such a meaningful experience, and I hope my peers feel the same.
Dyland Leocadio
During the last seven weeks as a Culture Keeper, I enjoyed learning a lot about the history of East Palo Alto. I was initially nervous about introducing myself in the interviews because I didn’t know my interviewees, but now I feel more comfortable talking with them and elaborating on the questions. I really liked how they all had a story to tell about their lives in the community. Each story was unique and added its own depth to the city’s story. One memory I really liked, and that will stay with me, is being with a group that actually cared about what each other was doing, that cared about the well-being of each other.
The biggest thing that I learned is how to listen carefully because many people don’t. Many people continue to ask questions or ignore answers given to them, and I used to be one of those people. However, during this internship, I learned to take the time to listen–to make people feel heard. I also realized how important it was to preserve the history of East Palo Alto residents because they might not notice how important it was to do so themselves. Overall, this experience has taught me a great deal about preservation, community, and the power of listening. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to do it with a great group of people.
Erick Vargas
My overall experience with Culture Keepers was exciting and fun because I met new people, and learned things I didn’t learn during my first year. One thing I gained from the program was accountability because I had to hold myself accountable for doing my work well and throughout. Another thing I gained was socialization because I met new people and had to learn how to adapt to new environments and socialize in a big group. I hope to carry this forward in my career path by being professional towards people and carrying myself confidently, being able to talk to anyone and learn about their background and story. The most exciting thing from these last seven weeks was definitely the friendships and connections made, like meeting Chris from ILUVEPA and making that new connection knowing i have his support and he has my support. Another connection is Tyrone because he told us his inspiring story and about his faith. It’s very cool that he was able to bounce back after a hard path and he supports what we do and what we will do in the future. It was also exciting helping with the Juneteenth event, Celebrating Us, and the Showcase because we were shown the side of events that most people don’t get to see but we did because we helped run the events. Overall, I’m grateful for this internship because I think we brought a lot of new people together and we met very interesting and important individuals. Just being in the room everyday with everyone was fun because it never got really serious and we always saw it as fun in some way.
Flavio Pacheco
This year’s Culture Keepers program has been a great experience for me since I had the chance to interview people from East Palo Alto, a community really close to me, and learn about their lives and their work, and also more about the history of the community. One of my favorite memories was after I interviewed Mayra Rivera, the owner of La Cazuela, she made me chilaquiles for breakfast, which I wasn’t expecting at all. It was a cool moment because it showed me how generous the people in this community are.
More than anything, I think the best part of the program was the connections we made as I got to know more about the people in this community, and I also became closer with my peers in the program. After the Showcase, our group, GROUP A (Khrisar, Josh, Erick and I), dressed up in suits and spent the night out together. It was a fun way to celebrate everything we had worked on over the last weeks. This program helped me become more confident talking to new people and asking better questions. I know those are skills I’ll carry with me in college and in my future career.
Joshua Luengas
I am writing to share my reflections on my time with the Culture Keepers program over the last seven weeks. Overall, my experience in Culture Keepers was incredibly rewarding and impactful. One of the most valuable things I gained from the program was that I was able to connect with amazing individuals and friends that I made along the way such as Khrisar who was an amazing lead and took me home sometimes. One skill I learned was not to be scared to ask for help and to talk to others who can open doors and give me other interviews.
What excited me most about the last weeks was being able to interview a WWE wrestler. I never expected to interview a person that is in the career I dreamed of as a child.
Khrisar Magana-Chavez
It was an incredible experience being an intern for the Culture Keepers the second time in a row. I was able to truly develop as someone who wants to continue my professional career as a doctor, my soccer camp, and giving back to my community; while also receiving something back in return. I was able to create an immense number of connections with the peers around me. It was great doing different outside activities with Jose, Flavio, Erick, and Josh. As their lead, I did get carried away sometimes when it came to activities or leading them in general, but I was also on the sidelines when it came to most of the interviews. I was able to see how both Josh and Erick came out of their comfort zones to interview Royce Keys, Webster Lincoln, and James Collin. At first, they might stutter or look anxious, but as the interviews continued, they were able to look past that once they got into the flow, and the interviewee became more open with their answers. We worked well alongside one another when it came to events. On the fun side, it was great to socialize outside of the program with these young gentlemen who worked hard to get themselves such an amazing opportunity. On a more serious side, I stayed at a City Council meeting until 12:00 AM to fight for Culture Keeper funding with Jose.
Apart from making great connections with the Culture Keepers group, there were also a lot of impactful experiences for my own future professional career. I learned a lot of skills such as writing assignments, interviewing people, videography, thorough research, learning more about the history of my community and having a better understanding of it when I try to communicate with others. I also received a paycheck that will aid me with my expenses at the University of Notre Dame. I was able to make a handful of everlasting connections with community members who visited the EPACENTER who we interviewed, and at events such as Juneteenth, Celebrating Us, and the Showcase. Meda and Jesse helped me operate a large SONY camera that is used for interviews and recording large events. During the Celebrating Us event I strengthened the connection with Maurice Baker who discussed the free soccer camp that I created. After the event, I met with Emilio, a soccer coach who has the same dream of a free summer soccer camp for EPA children and can help me plan and operate it next summer. I also met Seaula (Tyrone) who was a guest speaker and poet. He is giving me some advice for my education. He is a big believer in Christ which makes his notes even more impactful to me, as I have a very similar perspective. Lastly, I would like to thank Ms. Sharifa for reinviting me to be a part of the internship this year, and being someone who has connected more with the community. I was able to receive so much help from her and Ms. Imelda who made my time enjoyable but also impactful.
Regina Alcazar
When I first joined Culture Keepers, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was new there and I felt like an outsider because my only connection to East Palo Alto was through College Track. This soon changed as I got to meet amazing people, hear impactful stories, and learn so much history and culture. Starting from my coworkers, the rest of the Culture Keepers were always social throughout the seven weeks of the program. Although I first felt very nervous, it only took a few days for me to realize that everyone was willing to listen to me, answer questions, and in general get to know each other. I formed new friendships that made me enjoy this program.
Culture Keepers also introduced me to so many amazing advocates. Meeting Ms. Sharifa and Dr. Omowale was truly inspiring. Hearing their stories, I was moved by their passion for their city and their duty to give back to their community. Through this program I also met Sarahí. Learning about her story and the work she does makes me feel reassured that I have a future in this country as an immigrant. Hearing all these voices made me feel empowered in many ways. This experience encouraged me to always be an advocate, and I feel confident that I can take these values with me when I go to college for a law degree.
Joining Culture Keepers allowed me to really feel part of the East Palo Alto Community. I was welcomed with kindness, and I thought I fit in, for example, when Ms. Rosa invited me and my family to her home although that was the first time she had met me. I felt like I fit in when Ms. Sharifa and Imelda looked for alternatives so I’d have the same opportunity to get paid as my peers despite my status in this country. And I felt like I fit in when my coworkers invited me to hang out with them even outside of working hours. I was really surprised by this community, and this will always be how I remember it when I get asked about East Palo Alto, a place full of diversity, willing to open their arms to you no matter where you come from.
Vicky Estrada
I can’t express how thankful I am to be able to have this opportunity as a Culture Keeper. This internship has taught me so many new things not only about the rich culture and history of East Palo Alto, but also necessary skills in life. I had so much fun while simultaneously learning new things. I enjoyed getting to know my coworkers and getting along as one team. I was able to meet some really significant people in the city of EPA, and I will forever be grateful to have these new connections as a teenager. Although I am shy, this internship opened up a lot of new skills for me,for example, time management, public speaking, teamwork, and so much more. My seven weeks as a Culture Keeper were the best seven weeks I could’ve ever asked for in a summer. Throughout this internship, I grew a lot. At first, I was super shy, not knowing anyone in the program, then transitioning into being friends with everyone–making some new friendships I hope to keep. This internship really made me step out of my comfort zone, but the results it gave my confidence, work-ethic, and communication skills made it worth it in the end. One memory I’ll always cherish during my time as a Culture Keeper was going to Great America with my friends–the same people I had been nervous to talk to at the beginning of the program. The fun little outing made us even closer together, and if it weren’t for this internship, I would have never even met these amazing people.
This internship taught me various new things that I will be using in the future. Although this internship doesn’t directly apply to the career I’m pursuing, it still applies to my overall future. I saw how important connections within a community are–even with just neighbors. I also witnessed how it’s important to help serve one another in a strong community. That being said, I will make it one of my goals to always be a community member who takes action and helps the community when in need. I was very excited for the Showcase despite still being nervous, to be able to finally display all of our hard work to our community and be able to honor everyone who was interviewed. I think that what we as Culture Keepers did was very important. Helping preserve history as teenagers is so important because we’re the next generation, and our responsibility is to ensure that the history of our people doesn’t go forgotten.