Program Helps Older Immigrants

Cal State students teach immigrants over the age of 50 English and help them learn what they need to pass the citizenship test. DP

Students in Project SHINE provide ESL support to the elderly
By Marina Zarate

DailyTitan.com: Cal State Fullerton students are helping elderly immigrants who seek to learn English and who want to become U.S. citizens through a program called Project SHINE.

The project is a national service-learning program in which students serve as tutors and coaches to legally immigrated noncitizens over the age of 50.

Thomas Oh, the CSUF coordinator for Project SHINE, operates through the Office of Internships and Service Learning.

"We match students with host instructors who would like help throughout the community," Oh said. "We focus on people over the age of 50 because they have different learning needs, such as loss of hearing or difficulty with remembering. However, we don't limit help to older immigrants - we help anyone in need."

Project SHINE, which stands for Students Helping In the Naturalization of Elders, began in 1997 and consists of 18 groups across the country.

The program originated out of Temple University's Center for Intergenerational Learning.

The Orange County group includes the North Orange County Community College District and CSUF. CSUF is the only major Orange County university to take part in the endeavor.
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