Submitted by: Samueli Academy and Orangewood Foundation
Written by: Karlos Ramirez
Samueli Academy, a public charter school in Santa Ana and program of Orangewood Foundation serves foster and community youth. It is not uncommon for our students to have grown up moving between homes, schools, and languages. Many are first-generation Americans whose parents don't speak English. Books, in the traditional sense, were often a luxury their families couldn't provide and English was not a language anyone at home could teach.
Valery P., one of the students who pushed for the library, said, "I came to the United States when I was in 5th grade, so I didn't know much English. So I started reading books, and that's how I learned English." Her parents couldn't help her because they didn't know English either. Books became her translator, her tutor, and her way into a new country.
Jocelyn B., another student advocate, remembers not knowing how to read in second grade. It wasn't until fifth grade, when a teacher told her simply to "read to understand," that something clicked. That single instruction changed the trajectory of her education.
So when a group of Samueli Academy students set out, on their own initiative, to build a real, physical school library, they weren't chasing a nostalgic idea of what a school should have. They were trying to give other students something that had personally saved them.
Samueli Academy has always embraced technology. Here, every student has a laptop. But Valery, Jocelyn, and their classmates knew that screens couldn't replace the specific, physical experience of a library: a room full of books a student could hold, get lost in, and return to. They brought the idea of building a library to school leadership, who agreed to let them pursue it, on one condition: the students would need to raise the funds to furnish the space themselves.
That's where the story could have stalled. Fundraising for furniture is not a small ask for a group of high schoolers already carrying full course loads, jobs, and in many cases, family responsibilities. This is the real challenge at the heart of this story: a group of students had the vision and the will, but not the resources, much less guarantees the resources would come.
That's when Joe Lozowski, President of Tangram Interiors and Orangewood Foundation Board Member stepped in. Joe didn't just support the students' fundraising effort, he removed the barrier entirely by donating all of the furniture for the library at no cost. Tangram Interiors describes itself not as a furniture dealer but, in the company's own words, as a "collaborator in transformation" where "beautiful spaces aren't the goal, they're the vehicle.” The real goal is "human flourishing." Those corporate values are not mere marketing gimmicks when you see it applied to Samueli Academy's library. The space Tangram helped create gave students like Valery and Jocelyn a room built entirely around the idea that reading changes lives. Because for them, it already had.
The library is now open on campus with a full rotation of student librarians who run the place. The project is a direct result of student advocacy meeting corporate generosity, with no strings and no delay. It stands as proof to our students that when they identify a real need and fight for it, the broader community will show up for them.
This is the latest chapter of a much longer story. Joe, in his role on the Orangewood Foundation’s Board of Directors, has been supportive of Samueli Academy since the school's founding. He served as the first co-chair of the capital campaign to build the multi-million dollar school campus and met monthly over multiple years with the campaign's Champions Committee. Joe didn't just lead that effort; he modeled the giving he was asking others to consider by making his own transformational gifts to the campaign.
Joe’s connection to the students has always been deeply personal. Take Sam B., a Samueli Academy alumnus who went on to attend the University of Michigan. When Sam moved to Michigan, living for the first time on his own, he stayed with Joe’s sister for a bit. As the school became a reality and students began to graduate, Joe also funded scholarships for several students. Daniel R., a Samueli Academy alumnus who went on to graduate from LCAD and now works as a graphic designer for the The Wonderful Company, he credited those scholarships as the reason he was able to attend college at all in a recent interview.
Joe and Tangram Interiors have their fingerprints all over this campus. They have shown up for Samueli Academy and Orangewood Foundation not as a one-time donor, but as a true partner whose support has evolved alongside the needs of the organizations and the youth. That deep level of dedication was recognized in 2020, when Joe and his wife, Sonya were honored as Orangewood Foundation’s Crystal Vision Award winners. Then again in 2024 when Samueli Academy recognized the Lozowskis and Tangram Interiors with the Founders’ Vision Award.
Their impact is visible in the everyday spaces where young people are learning, living, and growing. Tangram has generously donated essential furniture and chairs to Orangewood Foundation, transforming our spaces into welcoming, functional environments. Joe has even turned his business assets into tools for our mission by lending trucks and movers for key activities and proudly turning his entire delivery fleet into rolling billboards by displaying the Orangewood logo on every truck.
Beyond operational support, Joe brings immense warmth and holiday spirit to our community. From holding annual Orangewood Foundation holiday drives at Tangram to hosting holiday parties for Orangewood scholarship recipients right in his own offices, Joe and his team continually open their hearts to ensure the youth we serve feel celebrated and supported year after year.
That is what makes this a story of unity and generosity. It wasn't Tangram deciding what Samueli Academy needed and providing it. It was students identifying a need, advocating for themselves, and a longtime community partner recognizing that moment and meeting it fully, without hesitation. It's the kind of partnership that only works because both sides trust each other, built over years of showing up.
Samueli Academy and Orangewood Foundation are proud to nominate Joe Lozowski and Tangram Interiors for the "Philanthropy as Unity" category.
Supplemental Storytelling Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdZuATkP99I
