Who are the PEAs?
by Sydney Stevenson '19
High School students aid peers with social issues through an education program. This article appears courtesy of The Peabody Press.
High School students aid peers with social issues through an education program. This article appears courtesy of The Peabody Press.
The Peer Educators and Assistants (PEAs) are a group of students ranging from sophomores to seniors, who strive to make the USN High School community a better place.
The PEAs meet every week as a class and teach each other topics not usually taught in the regular school day. They then use the knowledge they gain from their class and apply it to situations in where their peers come to them for confidential advice, or to educate the community in a larger sense. The application process is open for rising sophomores to seniors who feel they want to make an impact in the community.
Senior Ames Mullendore, a second-year PEA, said one of the main goals of the PEAs is to educate and help their peers work through problems they face.
“One of the things we primarily do is help other students in High School with any problems they have, ranging from drug use and abuse, to self-harm, and to family issues,” Mullendore said. “The other main activity that we are involved in is to talk about those issues that we help people with, within a larger context, and supply the high school with information about them. So the PEAs is a half class, half peer support group.”
The PEAs meet every Monday night in an academic class setting, where they brainstorm and do presentations on the selected topic at hand, and each student involved is required to do at least one presentation to the group per semester.
Sophomore Avery Sweet broke down what these sessions regularly consist of.
“Usually we have someone to present a topic to the group each meeting. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, Andrew Thornton and I did a presentation on the topic of peer pressure and gossip. Next week we are focusing on sexuality and identity, so there are people that will present on that, and in some cases we have a guest speaker to come talk to us as a class,” said Sweet.
The group’s impact on the high school community is a big part of who they are. As described by the PEA faculty advisor Ms. Eberl, they work hard to understand their topics, then distribute their knowledge to their peers.
“They provide information to the community about what they are learning, and that is an angle this year’s PEAs want to focus on a lot. One of the ways we are going to provide information to the community is through the newly released PEAs website,” said Eberl. “Another way we are trying to reach out to the community is a Lunch and Learn on a topic of interest of students, with a guest speaker knowledgeable on the subject.”
The PEAs are available to anyone in the high school community to support and aid in whatever they are going through, and have many ways to contact them.
“We are available to any student, and sometimes we are in contact with teachers. If someone were to need to get in contact with us, we have a PEA board on the fourth floor that has the school photos for all of the members of the PEAS, so you can directly reach out to one of us. Or, if you wanted to contact a trustworthy supportive adult, you can contact Ms. Eberl in her office on the third floor,” said Mullendore.
The PEAs are a group of caring and considerate students and faculty members, whose impact on the community is felt by all.
The PEAs are a group of caring and considerate students and faculty members, whose impact on the community is felt by all.
Sophomore Mia Pretorious appreciates their involvement.
“I think the PEAS are very helpful and I like that at anytime someone could come up to them and ask them a question that they feel is important,” said Pretorius. [They] will always give you their best thoughts and opinions.”
“I think the PEAS are very helpful and I like that at anytime someone could come up to them and ask them a question that they feel is important,” said Pretorius. [They] will always give you their best thoughts and opinions.”
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Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.