On Feb. 25, IB and junior English teacher Maria Zavala was awarded a certificate of recognition for the 2016-17 “Keeping History Alive” Grant. The award was granted to only 13 high schools in L.A. County, and this is Zavala’s second year receiving the grant. The grant is sponsored by Azusa Pacific University (APU), the Ahmanson Foundation, and the L.A. County Office of Education. The grant’s purpose is to assist K-12 teachers of public, private, and parochial schools with funds for classroom resources, field trips, and on-campus presentations. Zavala found the grant last year in an effort to search for a way to pay for a field trip in which her students would have hands on experience analyzing seminal and primary documents.

Last year, Zavala was doubtful about applying for the grant because she herself is not a history teacher. To rid of the doubt, Zavala decided to collaborate with colleagues and history teachers Octavio Hernandez, Matthew Sprankle, and Anthony Webner to make the trip co-curricular. The history teachers accompanied as chaperones. The group received the grant, and Zavala’s classes took a trip to the Huntington Library where students saw various exhibits such as the Remarkable Works Exhibit, which featured 150 rare works like a letter by Abraham Lincoln, civil war material, rare photographs, work by Mark Twain, and many other significant people.

“I feel honored that the APU grant committee accepted our application and saw our creative way of bringing history and literature alive,” Zavala said. “I am excited that I get to collaborate again with Mr. Hernandez, Mr. Sprankle, Mrs. Stein, Mr. Webner, and this year, Mr. Callahan is joining us.”

This year, Zavala was granted with $3,400 and plans to return to the Huntington Library. English teacher Martha Stein’s junior class will also accompany Zavala’s class on the field trip on Mar. 22. This time, she plans for students to see the “Becoming America” exhibit which is a showcase of 18th and 19th century American paintings and furniture and to revisit the Remarkable Works exhibit. Students will analyze and question the pieces and ponder the author or artist’s’ purpose. They will also examine the significance of American history and writing.

“I am excited for the field trip because I feel it will be a good experience to actually see what we are learning about and not just hear about it,” a student of Stein and junior Monique Harden said.

Different subjects can come together in a harmonious way in order to educate. The collaboration between Zavala and the history teachers clearly demonstrate this. This grant awarded to Zavala greatly helped and allowed the classes to attend this educational field trip last year and will help on their trip this year.