Nikole Patson, an Associate Professor of Psychology, has received the Outreach and Engagement grant for her proposal to expand the Pride and Life Skills mentoring program. PALS connects college students from the Marion campus with children in the Marion area to provide one-on-one mentoring opportunities for younger students.

Here is the full write-up of the proposal from Nikole Patson and her project co-lead, Ben McCorkle:

"The goal of this project is to expand on an existing initiative, the Pride and Life Skills mentoring program (PALS), which is a cooperative venture between The Ohio State University at Marion, Marion Mentors, and Marion Public Schools. PALS connects college students from the Marion campus with children in the Marion area to provide one-on-one mentoring opportunities for younger students. Marion Mentors matches program volunteers with school-age children and provides them with the necessary resources and support to direct them through the mentoring process. Students earn 1 credit per semester of independent study by attending mentoring sessions regularly, coming to meetings to discuss their experiences, and critically reflecting on their mentoring activities. With this grant, we will (1) recruit additional students into the program; (2) provide new leadership opportunities for students who have served as PALS mentors; (3) create additional sources of peer support for PALS mentors."