In an ongoing effort to renovate and beautify schools in the City of Carson, the Marathon Petroleum Corporation has yet again transformed the exterior of a school in the city. This time, Carnegie Middle School was the recipient of a giant exterior renovation just prior to the beginning of the 2022 Fall Semester. Students, Parents, Teachers and Faculty alike were ecstatic to see the newly redesigned walls, murals, and landscaping. The overhaul was the outcome of a partnership between Marathon, LAUSD, Sharefest, several vendors, and many local Marathon employees who donated their time to the school.

The value of this renovation is deeply personal to those involved, especially Marathon employees. “This project in particular is nice because a lot of people working on the project have gone to this school or they have friends or family who go to this school, so impacting those people directly by giving back to the community is very valuable for Marathon,” said Robert Hicks, Maintenance Manager, Marathon Petroleum. Throughout the summer, some parents were on the cusp of choosing a different school for their children to attend, but elected to go with Carnegie because of how nice the transformation looked. Jackie Richardson is one of those parents, who said “Everybody is excited about the new school, the new look. I love the new landscaping, it just gives the kids confidence when they come into a beautiful school. It looked really torn down when we first came, and I was like ‘I don’t my son to go there’ but as soon as we walked in today I was really impressed cause they did a really amazing job.” 

Nobody understands the importance of a welcoming school to a neighborhood more than Michael Romero who is the Superintendent of LAUSD South. Regarding this project, Mr. Romero said “There’s more than just reading and writing and math proficiency. Our kids, staff, and families spend a lot of time on this campus, and we want to make sure it is the most welcoming, and the safest we can provide for our beautiful youth here at Carnegie.” Carson City Council Member Arlene Bocatija Rojas echoed this vision,  “When you drive into a city and you see that the schools are well maintained, and the children are happy, and they like where they’re at, that will reflect in their future.”

 

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None of this excitement would have been possible without the hard work of Marathon employees who volunteered their time towards this effort. Marathon Petroleum Planning Supervisor Frank Marino was at the helm of those volunteers. He was inspired by what he saw of the academics at Carnegie when he said, “This school has obviously put a lot of academic muscle in over the last few years. Internally, they have just completely dominated from a scholastic standpoint. So now we have an opportunity for the appearance of the school to echo what’s going on inside.” In charge of all efforts was Olga Chavez, the ESG & Stakeholder Engagement Rep from Marathon, who worked with Frank and Sharefest at every turn. Mr. Marino had this to say about Olga’s involvement and the outcome in general, “Olga was generous enough to bring in Sharefest, myself, and the School Staff, and we started working on a design outside that could bring attention to the school that is so deserving because of what they’ve done inside.” Frank went on to say that “working alongside, and seeing my local Carson employees coming out on their off hours, volunteering their services so selflessly, it’s beyond heartwarming it’s almost hard to express.” 

Sharefest has had the opportunity to work with Mr. Marino on LAUSD projects over the years, which made this effort that much easier to execute. The Marathon/Sharefest partnership has helped many Carson schools, and their staff has seen how this partnership has made a difference in their students. Dr. Afia Hemphill is the LAUSD Administrator for the City of Carson who said, “I think the project will impact the kids cause it lets them know that we see them, we hear them, and we want the best for them.” Dr. Hemphill went onto remark “Sharefest along with Marathon, has been like a match made in heaven. Together, they have been able to maximize time, energy, resources, access to supplies and materials to get projects like this off the ground.” This sentiment is also understood by Carson City Councilmember Jim Dear, “unless you have the willing partners, you can have an idea, a concept, a dream, but fulfilling that dream requires work, dedication and commitment. Sharefest is committed to their successes, Marathon Petroleum Corporation is committed to the community and we very much thank them for that commitment.”

The bottom line is the transformation will impact the future of the children who attend this school. Carnegie Middle School Principal Jenaro Torres beams, “As the kids come into campus they are going to have this great social emotional, this positive feeling that, at this school, they care about me. They walk in and they see beautiful grass, flowers, murals, that lets our kids know that we really care, they matter, so they come in here and give it their best.”

About Sharefest: 

Sharefest delivers hope to disconnected youth by giving them the skills, resources, support and connections they need to mobilize from poverty. 

About Marathon Petroleum Corporation and the Los Angeles Refinery: 

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company operates the nation’s largest refining system. MPC’s marketing system includes branded locations across the United States, including Marathon brand retail outlets. MPC also owns the general partner and majority limited partner interest in MPLX LP, a midstream company that owns and operates gathering, processing, and fractionation assets, as well as crude oil and light product transportation and logistics infrastructure. More information is available at www.marathonpetroleum.com.

MPC’s Los Angeles refinery is in Los Angeles County, near the Los Angeles Harbor. It manufactures cleaner-burning California Air Resources Board (CARB) gasoline and CARB diesel fuel, as well as conventional gasoline, distillates, petroleum coke, anode-grade coke, chemical-grade propylene, fuel-grade coke, heavy fuel oil and propane. The refinery ships products via its connections to several product distribution pipelines and terminals. Its Watson cogeneration plant produces 400 megawatts and is the largest cogeneration facility in California.