For the past 15 years, the Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP) has been bringing Erie School District students, volunteer mentors and tutors together at Wayne and Wilson Middle Schools and at Central High School. More than 3,800 students have participated in the program, and 840 community mentors have committed nearly 22,000 hours to ensure the success of those PEPP students.
PEPP is an after-school academic and social enrichment program for Erie students that encourages students to stay in school, improve academically, develop leadership abilities and receive career guidance to be better prepared for postsecondary education. Penn State Erie initiated PEPP 15 years ago based on a model developed two years earlier at Penn State McKeesport.
"Our success is totally dependent on the support of the Erie community," said Diane Daniels, director of PEPP. "We've never been dependent on government grant money. When Penn State developed PEPP, it made a long-term commitment to the program and structured it in a way that ensures it will continue."
"PEPP in Erie is a very successful public-private partnership that motivates students who need encouragement to pursue higher education," said Jack Burke, CEO and dean of Penn State Erie. "Last fall, thanks to their involvement in PEPP, 14 seniors in the program received $330,387 in college scholarship offers. Some of those seniors attend Penn State, either locally or at one of the other campuses, and some go on to higher education elsewhere."
"When I first stepped into high school, I wanted to do everything within my power to increase my chances of going to college," said Dante Spain, a Central High graduate now in his final year as an electrical engineering technology major at Penn State Erie. "Through PEPP, I not only learned what it took to get into college, but more importantly, how to succeed in college. The PEPP staff has been there for me every step of the way."
PEPP operates primarily through the activities of volunteers and the gifts given by generous donors, according to Daniels. Ty Schuerman, retired from General Electric (GE), has been a leading mentor and volunteer in the program since its inception, and he has encouraged GE employees to continue giving their time and talents to PEPP.
"As a result of my longstanding interest in education and young people, I volunteered through Elfun GE Volunteers to organize a mentoring activity," said Schuerman. "This activity was to supplement the academic tutoring of PEPP, and the idea was to provide academic stimulation through vocational modules which connect academics to vocations, and to empower students in the process."
Recruiting of mentors was done by contacting young professionals who are part of the GE Association of Program Members (APM), according to Schuerman. The association, whose members change frequently due to rotating work assignments, has maintained its activity through the 15 years of PEPP's existence, and volunteers from other organizations also have been involved.
"My interest and activity in PEPP and other youth activities in the Erie area has been rewarding to me," said Schuerman. "I've observed the participants' journey from middle school through college and into the work world. The process has been accomplished by, in addition to tutoring and mentoring, sustained personal contact, guidance and role modeling by the PEPP staff and volunteers. PEPP definitely makes a difference in the lives of many of our youth."
When asked why she takes time out of her long workday to volunteer, GE APM mentor Helen Murray said, "We all recognize the benfits of helping our students toward a better future, and the PEPP program at Wilson Middle School gives us the opportunity to realize that when you care enough to make a difference, you actually can make a difference."
"Since 1996 the PEPP program has distributed $53,381 in college scholarships to participants," said Daniels, "and all the funds have come from donors to the program. We have several endowments that provide scholarships, field trips, incentive prizes, celebration events and parent-student events. Last year we gave more than $11,000 in scholarship money to PEPP students going on to college."
Daniels and her assistant, Kathy Deutsch, are PEPP's only employees, and both point with pride to the students that have benefited from the program.
One young woman who came to the program in sixth grade at Wayne Middle School recently completed an engineering degree at Penn State Erie and now is pursuing a graduate degree at Cleveland State University. Another is pursuing a social work degree at the University of Michigan, and still another is studying electrical engineering at Penn State Erie.
"We can tell a great many success stories," said Daniels. "We stick with our kids. We advocate for them as they apply to colleges, and we follow their progress there. We meet once a week for lunch with PEPP students at Behrend, and sometimes we bring our high school students along to see what they can aspire to."
"In return, our kids stick with us, returning to serve as tutors and to encourage the current PEPP students," Daniels said. "Over 15 years we've seen students grow in self-esteem and motivation, and we're very proud of their accomplishments."