Robin Sampson has ideas for teen center programs
By Leigh Ann Maze
There is a new face at A Place for Teens. Los Gatan Robin Sampson left her job in public television and was hired in April as the teen center's new full-time director. She said she plans to stick around.
"These kids need some continuity here, someone to commit," Sampson said. "Not just someone who will come in for a while and then leave again." In the past, the center tended to hire college students to be directors, but when school was over, they left.
A Place for Teens is a nonprofit organization which provides a place for teenagers to hang out, interact and participate in activities without drugs or alcohol. It opened in 1994 and was named The Outhouse by the teen participants. It's located behind Los Gatos High School.
Sampson originally planned to quit her job and go into news. But when her daughter, who had her first job at A Place for Teens, told her they were looking for a new director, Sampson saw a good opportunity, not only to help the teenagers in the area, but also to spend more time with her own two children. Sampson has a son who is 11 and a 16-year-old daughter at LGHS. She might even get an occasional glimpse of her husband, George Sampson, KCAT general manager. KCAT's studio also is just behind the high school, close to the teen center.
"I've always had a passion for teenagers," Sampson said, adding that she is working on a freelance television production about teenagers that focuses on the positive rather than the "doom and gloom." Sampson's biggest challenge and goal as the new director is to get teenagers from all over Santa Clara County, not just Los Gatos, to come to the center.
"A lot of people think A Place for Teens is just for Los Gatos High School or just for Los Gatos-area students, but that's not true," Sampson said. She already has a few ideas on how she can reach out to teens in surrounding communities. One idea is to get a van, so that those young people without easy transportation to Los Gatos can be picked up for a few hours at the center, and taken back to their homes later.
The summer months at A Place for Teens are quiet compared to the many activities during the school year, but The Outhouse will still be open every day from noon. to 7 p.m. this summer. The Los Gatos-Saratoga Recreation Center will hold a Counselor in Training camp this summer at the center for junior high school students.
Sampson said she just found out there will be several exchange students in the area from Japan who plan to hang out at A Place for Teens to meet other students, play pool and watch TV. Sampson said she plans a concert for June 24, and if it is a success, she may hold one concert each month during the summer.
Sampson is also busy getting ready for all of the activities that will start once school resumes in the fall. She also plans to hold monthly forums on teen issues and has been talking with teenagers to find out what issues they would like to discuss. So far, they've expressed interest in forums on suicide, body image, teen relationships and measures of success.
Sampson is also working with the Youth Music Foundation to plan about four concerts throughout the year, hopefully free. There will also be occasional junior high student dances and movie nights twice per month.
Also in the fall, Sampson hopes to offer college tours, tutoring and CPR and first-aid classes, all free or as inexpensive as possible.
Sampson plans to invite senior citizens to A Place for Teens for tea, so that they can interact with the teens there. "I think seniors and teens have a lot that they can learn from each other," Sampson said.
Overall, Sampson said, her long-term goal is to make A Place for Teens a fun place for teens to hang out.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
