USC

"The Delinquency Control Institute of the University of Southern California began a relationship with ... Oakwood apartments more than 25 years ago when we started housing our visiting students there for the length of our six week class. These classes would consist of officers from out of the area in California along with officers from agencies in other states and also officers visiting from other countries.

 

Even before taking over as program manager in 1992, I was a student in the 81st class in 1985. After graduating, I was recruited ... to get involved with the Alumni Association and one of my responsibilities was to greet the visiting students at Oakwood on the night before the class started to carpool them up and give them directions to the campus and in general to make them feel welcome.

 

I was always impressed on what a great job [the] Oakwood staff did to make the students feel both welcome and at ease. After coming aboard full time and being in constant touch with the "Oakwood People," as we had come to affectionately refer to them, I cannot remember one time when a student came to me with a problem which wasn't immediately take care of with one phone call to the contact person at Oakwood, usually Nena Ortega. I never once concerned myself with the thought that all my students staying at Oakwood were [not] being well taken care of.

 

[Once], when we were extricated from out building on campus, Nena again came to our recuse. During a lunch on campus, Nena suggested that we try putting the class in the conference room at the Marina del Rey facility. ... We just completed our third class there and I must say that I could not be more pleased with the results. The officers love the facility, the instructors are overwhelmingly pleased and the kindness and professionalism extended to us by ... the entire team has been nothing short of sensational."

 

Dan Kuhn

Program Manager

University of Southern California