Participants in Reporter Corps, a USC Annenberg program to train young adults from South LA to report on their own communities, created audiovisual introductions to their neighborhoods this summer. Mario Narciso speaks with his neighbors about parks, safety, and community. 

Mario Narciso 18, Foshay High School graduate, University of California at Riverside incoming freshman, speaks Spanish and Zapotec  

I am from a large, proud family from Oaxaca, Mexico. In their town most speak an indigenous language, Zapotec, as well as some Spanish. In 1989 my parents left Mexico in search of work and moved to South L.A., where I was born. As a participant in Reporter Corps I am interested in focusing on two issues: special education and perceptions of Latino and black youth. I was in special ed for three years and if my father had not helped me leave, I may have been stuck in it. I would also like to also show the positive and the untold stories of the “wild jungles” of L.A. Attending Reporter Corps will allow me to gain more experience in journalism and to help me understand about my major when I attend UC Riverside.