ROC—"Remembering Our Culture"—was first organized as a retention program for students of color attending a local college. Now in its seventh year off campus and under the artistic direction of Michael and Lluvia Cambpell, ROC has participants from a number of local colleges and continues to fulfill its original purpose: to help multi-cultural students stay in school and progress towards graduation while developing love and respect for their culture and that of others. To date, more than 400 students have participated in the program.Michael and Lluvia met at Brigham Young University while they performed for The Lamanite Generation. After they received their bachelor's degrees, Michael went on to earn a law degree at the University of Buffalo, New York. He currently works at UVSC full-time in addition to teaching three courses each semester. He is a member of the Cayuga nation, Iroquois Confederacy.
Lluvia works as a court interpreter part time. She is from Mexico City and began composing spiritual songs for the group a year ago. ROC performs most of her compositions at firesides. The couple has six children; their two oldest are currently members of ROC.
To find out more about the group, visit their web site at www.roctheplanet.com.