Fresh face for a youthful group

The legendary Oscar Santoyo is no longer at the helm of Save Our

Youth but the organization lives on under new direction. Who has

stepped up to take control? Trevor Murphy, a Golden Bear with a

golden heart and nerves of steel.

Columnist Lolita Harper caught up with Murphy Friday to ask him

about his new Westside endeavor. Here’s what he had to say.

If you had to describe yourself using three words (yes, you have

to) what would they be?

Fortunate, grateful, opportunistic

Can you tell us a little about your background and how you landed

at Save Our Youth?

I graduated from Cal in 1994 with a degree in economics. While

most of my colleagues were taking jobs across the bay in San

Francisco, I was more interested in trying to work overseas. I felt

at the time it would be the only period in my life where I could see

the world. I applied to the Peace Corps thinking I would get posted

in Latin America because I spoke some Spanish at the time. The next

thing I knew I was speaking Swahili in the East African country of

Tanzania, where I was sent to teach economics at an all-girls

government high school.

It was an invaluable experience where I was able to mature and

develop a set of values that I carry with me to this day. The school

where I taught was located in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro. As a

secondary project, I trained and led these high school girls on

six-day expeditions up to the summit of Kilimanjaro.

Interestingly enough, my written tales from these expeditions were

mailed home and distributed to family and friends. Somehow they

landed in the hands of Peter and Linda Biehl, who wanted to meet me.

After almost three years in Tanzania, I traveled to Cape Town, South

Africa, where I met the Biehls and discussed the possibility of

becoming the new program director of the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust.

I took the position and moved to Cape Town for two years.

Under the mentoring of Peter and Linda, I drove everyday into the

same township where Amy was killed to develop and manage after school

programs for at-risk and disadvantaged youth. During this time, I met

with my current wife Sarah, a beautiful South African artist, who

also worked in the after-school programs for the Amy Biehl

Foundation. (I was actually her boss.)

I decided in the fall of 2000 to enter graduate school at

Georgetown University in their School of Foreign Service. I had loved

working overseas and had hoped that this degree would be the stepping

stone to joining our Foreign Service and working the rest of my

career as a diplomat. However, while interning at the State

Department, I realized how much I missed the day-to-day interaction

with people -- especially impressionable young people where you have

an opportunity to make a difference in their lives. There just wasn’t

the same fulfillment working for the government. Plus, the world just

isn’t as safe for U.S. diplomats anymore.

The idea of spending the rest of my life bunkered down in an

embassy canceled out all my exotic aspirations of living abroad. Upon

graduation, I began to look again at jobs dealing with teenage youth.

I moved back to Orange County right when Save Our Youth was looking

for a new director. I guess you can say the timing was perfect for my

ambitions and SOY’s need to fill this position.

Is it hard following in the footsteps of someone such as Oscar

Santoyo, who was there “forever” and very well loved?

It is difficult on some levels. However, the best thing in regards

to “following in the footsteps” that Oscar left at SOY was that he

nurtured community support for what we are trying to do. You have a

very special community here in Costa Mesa and at times I feel like an

adopted son. Everyone I have dealt with here has been like, “Oh,

you’re the new director of SOY? What can I do to help?”

As anybody can tell you, this support can be difficult to obtain

in the world of nonprofits. I have been able to feed off this support

as SOY has made this major transition in its history because of the

heart and soul Oscar put into it. The hardest part has been the looks

on some of the kid’s faces when they come into the office for the

first time and learn that Oscar has moved on. You can tell that

everybody revered him. However, my staff and the board have stood

behind me and I have not had any trouble connecting with the youth at

SOY.

You can never say that I can “replace” Oscar. He’s irreplaceable.

I just need to trust my skills and experience to keep SOY strong and

hope that the community will continue to see what necessary service

it provides in the social and academic development of its youth.

What are some changes or new projects we can look forward to under

your direction?

We are hoping to expand the scholarship program in regards to

recruiting more low-income youths to our academic center where they

can earn money for good grades. We have dismantled the boxing program

and have turned that room into more of a multi-purpose room where it

can be used by more youth. It almost doubles our capacity and we use

it more for youth workshops and collaborations with other agencies.

I am hoping to start a music program where aspiring young

musicians can congregate and play together. We have also have a lot

of dancers using the new room to practice so I might capitalize on

their enthusiasm. I am also hoping to do more excursions outside of

Costa Mesa, maybe even international. I would love to take the SOY

Girls up to Mt. Whitney as an empowerment project. However, these

excursions cost money and you almost always need to be properly

equipped. I guess that is where the community can help us out.

The city has seen an arguable rise in gang-related crimes, is that

a large concern of yours at SOY?

Of course. We are always aware of what gang-related activities are

happening in the community. The essence of SOY is the diversion of

youth away from these activities. We work everyday to combat the

symptoms that might lead the youth toward this lifestyle. That is

what we do and it can be difficult at times. We will never be able to

force kids to a make a decision to stay clean, but we can offer them

support and an alternative if they chose to. I guess the most

difficult part is knowing a kid is on the fence but you don’t have

the resources to retain him or her.

SOY hosted an open house and talent show Friday. What are some of

your best talents?

I have played the piano for years and also play guitar and sing.

I’m not very good but then again I’m not afraid to make a fool out of

myself, so that helps.

I understand you are an Orange County native. How do you think

that will help you in this role?

I guess just being familiar with the demographics and knowing the

history. I have a historical perspective and have seen O.C. grow to

what it is today. I remember when there were still oranges. We cannot

deny that it has changed so much in the last 20 years. We have to

accept that O.C. will continue to evolve and SOY is a big part of

helping a new generation of Latino youths integrate and become

productive members of our community.

How do you look with a shaved head? Santoyo used to shave his head

if the kids made good grades. Any plans for that, or something along

those lines?

I think the shaving of the head was a special tradition between

Oscar and those he mentored. I would rather start my own legacy of

complete embarrassment. Maybe I will promise to dress up like a

woman, make-up and all, and go order a Big Mac.

Any closing thoughts or remarks?

On behalf of SOY, I just wanted to thank everyone that has made

this transition possible. The support I have gotten from Costa Mesa

has been incredible and I hope that SOY will stay strong. If it does,

I guarantee that everyone in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach will

benefit. However, we are dependent on private donations and some

small grants so please keep us in mind when you are feeling generous.