COMMUNITY PROFILES Miller strives toward equality for students
NORTH OF WILSHIRE Josh Miller isn’t your typical 16-year-old. Sure, he loves to play sports and hang out with friends at the beach, but what sets Miller apart from those his own age is his dedication to helping those who are less fortunate get a better education.
As the founder of the Resilient Youth Foundation, Miller, with the help of family, friends and generous sponsors, has been able to motivate hundreds of inner-city youth, providing free tickets to a professional soccer game and other rewards for those who work hard to raise their grades. The foundation has been able to raise more than $11,000 and plans to provide 500 families with a full day of fun at the Santa Monica Pier later this year.
On top of that, Miller and his friend Matt Goalen created the documentary, “Tracking To Nowhere,” which examined the track system at Santa Monica High School and why it is that so few minority students are in advanced placement classes compared to whites. The documentary, which has screened at the school and UCLA, recently earned Miller the 2007 Princeton Price for Race Relations.
At a time when teens are being criticized for being narcissistic and oblivious to the problems of the world, Miller is doing everything he can to get involved.
“To a certain extent, what people are saying about kids is true,” Miller said. “I’ve always been interested in politics, current events. Since the sixth grade I’ve read the newspaper every day. I don’t expect other kids to have that same level of enthusiasm, but what troubles me the most is that they don’t care and have really no idea about what is going on in their own community.
Miller’s inspiration for the documentary came from his good friend and teammate Eddie Lopez, who was shot and killed last year by a suspected gang member while walking with friends. The two had often talked about the disparities they saw at the high school. Lopez was one of the few Latinos in AP classes, Miller said, and that always bothered him.
“A month after he died, a friend of mine (Goalen) said he wanted to make a film,”Miller said.“He told me to come up with an idea and it just kind of clicked.I wanted to do it in honor of Eddie and investigate the reasons behind this and solve it in honor of him. I dedicate the Princeton Prize to Eddie and his legacy.
“I really started getting passionate about everything I’m doing after he died, and because of the experiences I had talking with him,” Miller added. “We were really close.”
The film showed that not one person is responsible for the lack of minority students enrolled in AP courses, Miller said. What he discovered is that there are a lot of factors that contribute. He also learned that while it may seem daunting, fixing the problem is easy. The difficult part is making people aware.
“It just pisses me off that even in Santa Monica, if you’re not white, you don’t have an equal opportunity to succeed,” Miller said. “That’s just ridiculous to me.”
Miller’s English teacher, Nathan Fulcher, who nominated him for the prize, said, “Through his work and dedication to the community, Josh has proven himself to be passionate and committed to breaking down racial barriers in our society. This year Josh has grown to not only see social injustice, but to actively seek solutions to the problem.”
His interest in equality can be traced back to his elementary school. Instead of attending a public school in Santa Monica, Miller, who grew up near Douglas Park, enrolled in UCLA’s University Elementary School where he sat alongside children from all socio-economic backgrounds. That experience helped him become more racially and socially aware, Miller said, and made him appreciate the blessings he had. After elementary school, Miller attended Lincoln Middle School and was somewhat disappointed by the attitudes of some of his fellow students, who seemed to be taking everything for granted.
“At that point I decided to dedicate my time to making sure that every kid, no matter their background, be given an equal opportunity to succeed,” Miller said. “Just because I was fortunate enough to live in Santa Monica, doesn’t mean that kids who didn’t shouldn’t have the same opportunity to succeed.”
Miller is gearing up for the family-fun day at the pier and is looking to create a scholarship fund in Lopez’ honor, with the goal of one day giving away five scholarships every year to Samohi graduates who meet certain criteria.
“Ever since the film, this has really jumped off,” Miller said. “This is something I care deeply about and I really want to fight for it.”
Miller isn’t always focused on the foundation. After all, he is 16 and like others his age, he likes to have fun with his friends.
“In the summer, I basically live at the beach,” Miller said. “During the school year, I’m basically into sports. I used to do football and boxing on top of baseball, but this year I’ve decided to focus solely on baseball, but I’m always doing some kind of athletics.”
Miller is a pitcher hoping to make the varsity squad next year. Once he graduates though, Miller plans on hanging up his glove so that he can concentrate on his school work. He would like to attend a school on the east coast, preferably Columbia or Georgetown, where he plans to study political science, economics or communications.
“I’m still not sure yet, but it will be one of those three,” he said.
And unlike most teens, Miller was adamant that he not be given all the credit for the foundation or the documentary. Instead, he wanted praise to be given to all of the volunteers and his friends Goalen and Lopez,“because I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 21, 2007. Read the original PDF.