Praneet Vasishta has worked as a clerical assistant for one year at the Listening and Speaking Center, a division of the Student Success Center that helps De Anza students at all levels by providing group and individual tutoring in various subjects.

Vasishta, 19, psychology major, works with instructors like Kanako Suda, an instructional support technician at the center, to provide listening and speaking workshops for ESL students.

“Our goal is to help (students) become better learners and gain the confidence and skill to achieve their goals,” Suda said. 

Vasishta explained that the LSC also helps students become multilingual. 

“We provide training and help for ESL students and students who want to learn other languages like Spanish, Mandarin, Korean and many other languages,” Vasishta said.

The LSC supports ESL students through workshops and tutoring sessions. Suda organizes these workshops and Vasishta assists in preparing the room before these workshops.

Suda said she met Vasishta when he used to join LSC workshops to improve his presentation skills.

“He enjoyed spending time and making connections with people in the LSC,” Suda said. “He got the job for his ability to communicate well with others and (improve) his marketing skills.” 

Japanese international student Moeka Ishizawa, 21, film and TV production major, often participates in the LSC workshops or does assignments in their study rooms when she has time.

“Vashishta always welcomes me when I enter the room like, ‘Oh, come in,’ and he is kind,” Ishizawa said.

Working as an assistant at LSC has helped Vasishta learn about cultures and languages because he gets to meet people from various backgrounds. 

“I really like this place because I like to speak to other people,” Vasishta said. “I can learn about many different things on a regular basis, which is interesting to me.”

As a psychology major, Vasishta said that his work at LSC gives him practice with patiently listening to and working with others. 

“I have to listen to people while they speak with me and then I have to respond to them,” he said.“That’s important in psychology, so it is pretty helpful.” 

Vasishta said that he is currently working on preparing for the LSC Spring Celebration and Fundraiser. 

To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the LSC, they will be holding a campus-wide event with  food, student performances and live music. This will be the first time bringing the event back on campus since the pandemic.

“My wish is to share our experiences and stories with each other at the event and to have a place where ESL students can shine,” Suda said.

The event is also a scholarship and support services fundraiser for ESL students. 

“We haven’t decided the requirements for the scholarship yet, but we hope to raise the money before that,” Vasishta said.

Like other facilities on De Anza’s campus, LSC is also suffering from budget cuts.  

“We are facing a pretty severe budget cut mainly because of the enrollment,” Suda said. “Because most of the funds come from the DASG, if enrollment goes down, the budget shrinks as well, which adversely affects LSC’s tutoring services.” 

The last time the LSC held this type of event was seven years ago. Suda said students at that time had so much energy to organize the event and she feels the same energy this year from the LSC’s student assistants.

“Praneet is very inspirational,” she said. “When I brought up this topic of having an event, he said right away, ‘Let’s do it.’ He’s been our event leader. His strength is connecting with others by talking to people, and he’s full of energy.”

The event will be held on June 9, from noon to 3 p.m. at the California History Center.