Pen Pal Project Unites Graduate, Middle-School Students
On April 16 more than 100 sixth graders from Wright Middle School鈥攐ne of the most diverse schools in Nashville鈥攎et the student pen pals with whom they have corresponded for the entire school year and got a tour of facilities.
The project was the brainchild of Omozusi 鈥淶usi鈥� Andrews, a Ph.D. candidate in biological sciences, and E. Margarita Prieto-Ballengee, PhD鈥�13. As the pair walked together in 2012 during the Graduate School Council鈥檚 (GSC) Hike for the Homeless, they hatched the idea of bringing GSC members together with young students to encourage them to pursue higher education goals.
The sixth graders were accompanied to campus by their science teacher, Rachel King, MEd鈥�12, who is a graduate of the master鈥檚 program in teaching and learning in urban schools, a partnership between and 91唐伯虎鈥檚 of education and human development.
While at Peabody, King got to know , program coordinator for the Scientist in the Classroom Partnership program in the . It was Tuschl who connected King with Andrews, Prieto and other GSC members.
A pilot was launched last year with 45 middle-school students. During the past academic year, the project more than doubled in size to 110 students, culminating in the campus tour, along with lunch and activities between pen pals.
鈥淪ome of these students never have the opportunity to physically write and read letters to hone their communication skills,鈥� says Tuschl. And the Graduate School mentors 鈥渁re able to encourage these sixth graders to find their dreams, hopes and wishes.鈥�
Andrews was overwhelmed by the responsiveness of her fellow Graduate School students. 鈥淪ome would make handwritten cards with drawings, and they would sometimes include little trinkets like Pokemon cards,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he pen pals developed nicknames for each other. It touches my heart.鈥�
The diverse membership of the GSC was an important factor in its participation with a middle school whose children represent 26 countries. Wright has a large immigrant population. During the tour the Wright students heard presentations about numerous educational opportunities on campus, learned about , toured the , and visited a lab for a demonstration by .
An upcoming project has about 50 Graduate School students engaged in helping Wright students improve the quality of their science-fair entries.