Dennis R. Sanchez was born in 1956 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. A graduate of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

, he is a critically acclaimed author. In addition, he is a professor of English at

East Los Angeles College East Los Angeles College (ELAC) is a public community college in Monterey Park, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and the Los Angeles Community College District. With fourteen communiti ...

and founded the organization, East Side Spirit and Pride, and serves as its current advisor. He was born and raised in East Los Angeles and now resides in Woodland Hills, CA.

Bridge To College and Fundraising Events

Dennis Sanchez is also closely connected with Father Greg Boyle and is a sponsor and long-time supporter of Father Boyle's non-profit organization,

Homeboy Industries Homeboy Industries is a youth program founded in 1992 by Priest, Father Greg Boyle following the work of the Christian base communities at Dolores Mission, Los Angeles, Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The program is intend ...

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

. Professor Sanchez is currently in charge of operating a program at Homeboy Industries called ''Bridge to College'', where he hopes to make it feasible for the homeboys to attend

community colleges A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open en ...

in the local vicinity such as East Los Angeles College in order to receive a preliminary education. In order to achieve this objective, he in conjunction with East Side Spirit and Pride has organized several fundraising events to raise sufficient funds. On March 29, 2012, East Side Spirit and Pride hosted a special dinner at Steven's Steakhouse in

Commerce, California Commerce is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,823 at the 2010 census, up from 12,568 at the 2000 census. It is usually referred to as the City of Commerce to distinguish it from ...

, where local celebrities such as

Chase Masterson Chase Masterson (born Christianne Carafano on February 26, 1963) is an American actress, singer and producer best known for her role as Leeta on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. She has appeared in the TV shows ''General Hospital'', ''Sliders'', ...

, actress in film Yesterday Was a Lie and author Luis J. Rodriguez, author of Always Running spoke. Other honorees include L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Hilda Solis, Father Greg Boyle and Sheriff Lee Baca. All the profits made by this event proceed directly to the establishing of grants and scholarships for selected individuals from Homeboy Industries and East Side Spirit and Pride. Father Greg Boyle and Dennis Sanchez

In March 2015, Santa Monica Chief of Police Jacqueline Seabrooks will receive recognition at the East Side Spirit and Pride annual fundraising dinner, as well as Father Greg Boyle. In addition, Professor Sanchez is responsible for the incorporation of renowned Michigan born artist

Kent Twitchell Kent Twitchell (born August 17, 1942, Lansing, Michigan) is an American muralist who is most active in Los Angeles. He is most famous for his larger-than-life mural portraits, often of celebrities and artists. His murals are realism not photore ...

into the East Side Spirit and Pride Club.

East Side Spirit and Pride

Dennis Sanchez founded the East Side Spirit and Pride Club in 1995 because he realized that students at East Los Angeles College are determined and motivated to succeed, though often because of external pressure and circumstantial adversity, they are not always able to satisfy their desire for self-actualization. He has often said that ELAC students must overcome more than other college students just to come to class. The club boasts of many accomplishments, including being one of the largest clubs in the college, with five divisions, dozens of faculty and staff members, and hundreds of students. The club has also made invaluable contributions to the school and surrounding community. Under his leadership, the East Side Spirit and Pride Club successfully established a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...

in the college. Sanchez was featured on KNBC as Unsung Hero in 2000 for his efforts to bring pride to a college that was in desperate need of it and his efforts to start a marching band at the college; and as a result Beverly Hills businessman Frank Fenton donated money for band uniforms. In addition to founding the ELAC Marching Band, Sanchez was responsible for the restoration of the collegiate

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

in 1993. Today he is working to keep football as an active aspect of the core curriculum at the college despite severe budget cuts to the college. Today these two facets in ELAC are active and play an integral role in the social and academic atmosphere of the college. In addition, Sanchez holds a black belt in Tang Soo Doo (Chinese Open Hand) karate.

Notable works

As an author, Professor Sanchez has published six books, which are currently widely used. *''Grammar Perfect: 19 Steps'', 1999 *''Reflections from a Looking Glass'', 2000 *''Grammar Perfect: a Brief Handbook'', 2001 *''Grammar Perfect Workbook'', 2002 *''Literature Made Easy'', 2004 *''Bridge to Success,'' 2013 With fellow professor Nancy Ramirez, Sanchez has published a developmental ''Bridge to Success'' with essays written specifically for the unrepresented student. The book features the art work of Fabian Debora, whose art relates the story of many underrepresented people.

References

External links

East Side Spirit and Pride Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Dennis Living people University of Southern California alumni San Francisco State University alumni 1956 births