Summer Archives

Hannah Lazarz Los Angeles, CA - Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA)

Heart of Los Angeles

In a city plagued by extreme poverty, gang violence, and crime, millions of youth in Los Angeles, California are victims of a relentless cycle of poverty. Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), a community center in the Rampart District, helps young people break this cycle by providing exceptional experiences in the arts, academics, and athletics. This summer, I had the privilege of serving with HOLA’s music department as a full-time teaching artist. Though my project initially began solely focused on implementing a Spoken Word poetry program for HOLA Music, my role developed on-site into three main roles: Spoken Word teaching artist for the HOLA Music Studio students, Kodaly Choir director for the 6 to 8-year-old YOLA students, and Leadership/Team Building teaching artist for YOLA students across all age groups. Hannah Lazarz Heart of Los Angeles.

The day-to-day of my project was like that of any teacher: lesson planning, teaching, reflecting, revising, and repeating. At the forefront of these tasks, however, was what I consider to be the most important of HOLA’s key values: empowerment. The musical theories and creative concepts that seemed to be the focus of my classes were really just intermediary tools for building social and academic skills (like self-confidence, self- expression, and writing strategies) that contributed in various ways towards this ultimate goal of empowerment.

Fortunately, I was supported in my project by a team of teaching artists made up of professional musicians from the greater Los Angeles community. Inspired by their passion and guided by their example, my project came to life in the most dynamic and fruitful of ways. This could not have happened, of course, without my students. My students were so bright, so curious, and so kind. I couldn’t have asked for more generous individuals to fill my classroom with love and laughter. The little ones blew me away with their ability to take responsibility and help their peers, and my oldest students grew immensely in their creative writing skills.

During our final week, several of my Spoken Word students were brave enough to share their poetry at an open mic--an experience that was so affirming for me in measuring my goals for my project this summer!

For more, please visit Heart of Los Angeles.