[THIS HIKE IS RESERVED FOR TROY CAMP MEMBERS]
Come spread the TC Love on this chill Saturday morning crossover with Peaks and Troy Camp! We’ll be taking the 2.4 mile West Loop trail, with plenty of views of the DTLA skyline and fellow hikers’ dogs. The club’s faculty advisors Dr. Celso Delgado and Robert Hernandez will be present and ready to discuss everything from their awesome work in Occupational Therapy and Social Work to Troy Camp’s storied history (and future!).
Troy Camp is one of USC’s oldest and largest service organizations, providing comprehensive, long-term mentorship for students of all ages in South Los Angeles.
PACKING LIST:
H2O
Hiking boots or sturdy sneakers
Layers
Snacks!!
PROFESSOR: CELSO DELGADO
DEPARTMENT: Occupational Therapy
Along with being a former counselor and current Troy Camp faculty advisor (since 2011!), Dr. Celso “Abuelo” Delgado is an associate professor of clinical occupational therapy at USC. His practice expertise includes community-based mental health and psychiatric rehabilitation, in particular Full Service Partnership (FSP) services that provide care to persons labeled with psychiatric disabilities in California. FSP is designed to support populations who experience significant emotional, psychological or behavioral needs and have been historically underserved/unserved by systems and public services. He has worked as an occupational therapist in the FSP programs at Occupational Therapy Training Program (Torrance, Calif.) and at USC’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles serving children, transitional age youth and their families. Dr. Delgado has research experience as an intervener providing Lifestyle Redesign intervention in Spanish and English to people with spinal cord injuries at-risk of developing pressure ulcers through USC’s Pressure Ulcer Prevention Study, a research program that was funded by the National Institute of Health.
He is currently an instructor of the mental health practice immersion course for students in the division’s entry-level professional program. He also teaches classes that focus on occupation-centered programs for the community and healthcare communication with Spanish-speaking clients. In addition, he provides fieldwork education and doctoral level mentorship to graduate students from the division placed at community-based mental health settings and psychiatric hospitals in Los Angeles County for their level II fieldwork or residencies.
Dr. Delgado is Board Certified in Mental Health by the American Occupation Therapy Association. He was elected and served in the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) Board of Directors from 2014-17. He was a 2017 recipient of OTAC’s Vision Award. He is a member of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity.
PROFESSOR: ROBERT HERNANDEZ
DEPARTMENT: Social Work
RATE MY PROFESSOR: “Rob is the man. Really interesting dude who obviously cares an immense amount about youth and intervention... He just wants to see you care about helping people.”
Robert Hernandez—known as “Sensei” in Troy Camp—is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and a TC Faculty Advisor. He is also the co-creator of the new Social Work and Juvenile Justice undergraduate minor! His areas of interest include vulnerable youth populations, adolescent social issues, adolescent gang intervention, strength-based resiliency, and youth empowerment models of practice. Hernandez focuses on advancing marginalized populations through a wide range of approaches addressing violence-related trauma through violence reduction, prevention, intervention, reentry strategies.
In 2014, Hernandez was awarded the highly acclaimed Jane Adams Award at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck, School of Social Work that goes to the instructor of the year as voted by the students. In 2014, he was recognized and awarded by the Asian Pacific American Student Assembly & Academic Culture Assembly as the most influential Professor of Color.
Be sure to ask Hernandez about the positions he’s held, including chair of Congressional District 29’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Council and Academic Advisor to Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Gang Reduction Youth Development Department. He is also the Board Chair of Visionary Youth Los Angeles (VYLA).
PEAK: Elysian Park West Loop
DIFFICULTY: 1/5
SCENERY: Palm trees! LA skyline! Dogs!
FUN FACT: There are rumors that old-time settlers buried Spanish gold in the park’s many hills and ravines…
TRIP LEAD: LAUREN