Paul Mata and CSUSB alumni think about how many miles one ...

FM-99.1 KGGI morning show radio personalityJeff Pope, a 1992 graduate ofCSUSB with a B.A. in communicationstudies, returned to his alma mater to givea lecture to an advanced marketing entertainmentclass. He thought he was thereto talk about radio broadcasting. But hewas taken off guard when a representativefrom the Harlem Globetrotters burstinto the classroom and pulled off the lidto a package. Inside was a bright greenWashington General’s jersey along witha special message : “It’s not easy beinggreen! Prepare to lose!” Pope appeared atthe Harlem Globetrotters basketball gameheld in Coussoulis Arena on Feb. 18. Andalthough he had his special fan club tosupport him, he did, indeed, lose.Root CausesCars and trees find common groundBy Saunder LeeFor most people who hear about EnterpriseRent-A-Car, it just seems likeanother agency that signs out vehiclesto any legal driver. Some might thinkthat this would create more traffic onthe road and pour more pollutants intothe air. But in 2006 The Arbor Day Foundationapproached Enterprise with a50-year plan to give something back tothe community.Dedicated to planting new trees, thefoundation proposed that EnterpriseRent-A-Car pledge to plant 50 milliontrees over the next 50 years to commemoratethe company’s 50 years ofsuccess. Enterprise happily took on thechallenge.Enterprise Rent-A-Car is one of thetop recruiters with Cal State SanBernardino. The company oftenhires students right after graduationto enter its management trainingprograms. Through its connections withthe Career Development Center, Enterprisehas been able to hire more than100 graduates to fill positions in variouscapacities, said Angie Ware, who graduatedfrom CSUSB in 2001 with her B.A.degree in business administration.Enterprise’s pledge committed thecar company to fund the planting of 1million trees every year for the next 50years. Each year, The Arbor Day Foundationwill identify a number of tree plantingprojects throughout the U.S. – andwork with similar agencies in Europeand Canada to find planting projectsin those countries. Enterprise Rent-A-Car will fund as many of these plantingprojects as possible. The ArborDay Foundationwill grow the seedlingsand providethem to the U.S.Forest Service,which will plantthe trees where theyare needed most. ●Distributed over a five-year period,the grant will provide funding to increasetutoring support and deliver anacademic-career education programthat will involve the development ofelectronic career resources, includinginstructional and experiential videosand Web sites. The program also willidentify alumni mentors, presentersand participants, establish a Hispanicalumni networking group, recruit servicelearning sites for internships andprovide service learning stipends forstudents.“Local nonprofit agencies and schoolswill have an important role in providingopportunities for real-world experiencesfor our students, and also the exposureto real community issues,” Podolskesaid.Thirty new grants totaling $17.2 millionwere awarded to benefit collegesand other postsecondary schools thatenroll a high percentage of Hispanicstudents. A Hispanic-Serving Institutionis defined as a non-profit institutionthat has at least 25 percent Hispanicfull-time equivalent enrollment. CalState San Bernardino has a Hispanic enrollmentthat tops 35 percent. ●csusb magazine | 29