Mya Thuraisingam, a graduating senior and President of the PESA Lions club at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is ready to embark on the next chapter in her life. Four years ago, Thuraisingam turned the page to a new phase: college. 500 miles away from her home state, Arizona, she was in search of a community and extracurricular involvement. Serendipitously, during her first week of freshman year, she discovered a club on campus called PESA Lions.
PESA Lions is a student-led organization that works closely with PESA to provide opportunities for members such as tutoring and mentoring system-impacted youth, interning with executive staff, proctoring Teen Court sessions and learning more about the educational and legal systems in Los Angeles. The club bridges the gap between LMU students and the community as they work hand-in-hand to support youth and positively influence their futures.
Thuraisingam was intrigued by the diverse opportunities and spent the next few years progressing through the leadership positions in the club. From a member to the Vice President of Off-Campus Operations, and eventually, the President.
“Impactful.” That was the word Thuraisingam used to describe her time with PESA. From her perspective, PESA’s impact goes beyond its programs in diversion, education, and social services. The impact she describes digs deeper into the experience of people of color in the American education system.
During a presentation PESA Lions was conducting at a local school, Thuraisingam shared that a teacher came up to them and said, “It's really great to have you guys here. Especially for [the students] to have another role model that looks like them, telling them to go to college.”
PESA and PESA Lions regularly work with diverse youth from low-income backgrounds. Thuraisingam, who identifies as a woman of color herself, understands the significance of representation in higher education. Seeing someone who looks like you thriving in that setting gives youth who share those backgrounds the courage and confidence to pursue those dreams too.
Thuraisingam will be graduating at the end of this semester with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance and will begin a full-time position at a private equity firm.
Thuraisingam describes her involvement with PESA as an experience she will cherish and hold dear to her heart as she begins her career. When asked for any final words she would like to impart to PESA members, she answered, “Thank you to everybody for all your help. Especially Seymour Amster and Araksya Nordikyan, shout out to them for being understanding of different schedules, helping launch and grow things at LMU, and most importantly for their support in growing our club on campus when we needed it. I’m excited to see how PESA continues to grow in the future.”
If you’d like to support PESA’s many social and educational initiatives, please contact us.
|