After 32 Years in Classrooms, She’s Ready for More

Anna Gaspar of Santa Monica recently retired as a teacher from the Los Angeles Unified School District, but not from teaching. Last week, she left for Namibia to begin working as a Peace Corps volunteer.

The 56-year-old Gaspar, who retired from Brockton Elementary School after teaching 32 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District, will work as a teacher in primary education in Namibia’s National Primary Education Reform Program.

“I have traveled to over 150 countries, and since I have been a child, I have always been interested in working for, or in a foreign country,” Gaspar said. “Since education is one of the most important areas the Peace Corps stresses, it naturally fits with my profession.”

During the first few months in Namibia, Gaspar will receive language instruction and technical training. She’ll also study the nation’s culture with an emphasis on families and how they interact with one another. Gaspar says she’s ready for the challenge.

“I think that my teaching career has helped prepare me for this experience,” she said. “I like the idea of helping children and hopefully I can give them some new ideas.”

After she completes her two-year assignment, Gaspar plans to become involved with the UNICEF program and continue working with children.

The Love Is Feeding Everyone Hunger Hero Award has been presented to Mickey Weiss, founder of the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market’s Charitable Distribution Facility.

Weiss, recognized for his contributions to end hunger in Los Angeles, was honored at the fourth annual Hunger Hero Award Tribute Dinner on Oct. 25 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Step Up on Second in Santa Monica, a day center for the mentally ill, has named Fred Brown, Stephen Marcus and Robert Quiroz to its board of directors.

Brown, a resident of Santa Monica, is an electrical engineer. Marcus, a Los Angeles Municipal Court judge, also serves as chairman of the State Commission on Correction’s Study of the Criminalization of the Mentally Ill. Quiroz, who lives in Mar Vista, is former director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.

Maika Wanatabe has been awarded the Garrigues Music Scholarship for piano studies at Swarthmore College in Philadelphia. Wanatabe, a freshman, is the daughter of Kyozo and Miwako Wanatabe of Los Angeles.

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