Bridgeland High School’s Peer Assistance Leadership program (PALs) is an organization that focuses on human connection and spreading joy. High school students who participate, referred to as PALs, travel to elementary schools during their class period every Tuesday and Thursday to connect with and ultimately be a friend to a specific elementary school student.
“The main purpose of the class is we’re each paired up with a kid who matches what we’ve gone through in life and we basically just be their friend for the whole year,” senior Daniel Burns said. “[The student might be] struggling socially, academically or just need a friend, so we’re here to help them.”
Elementary school students are selected by their teachers and counselors to have a PAL based upon their specific needs. Thus, in order to be a PAL, high schoolers must go through a thorough interview process and submit an essay explaining their interest. Once accepted into the program, they spend the first weeks of the school year training to meet their student and submit information about themselves to ensure the student they are paired with has a similar background and interests as them.
“I decided to join PALs because I wanted to give someone else the same opportunity I had when I had a PAL,” junior Mia Juarbe-Perez said. “I wanted to see what it was like to be the other person in that scenario.”
Through the constant support provided by their PAL, the elementary schoolers are encouraged to thrive both socially and academically while overall growing as an individual. This is accomplished through simple activities like playing or talking with their PAL.
“What we do is we’ll bring little bags with toys for our kids and just play with them and talk to them about anything,” Burns said. “It’s all about having fun, and it’s all about the kids so we’re always down to do whatever our specific kid wants, whether that be football or coloring or something else.”
The impact of PALs is clear when examining the effects the program has had on both the elementary and high school students. The elementary schoolers are comforted and supported while the high schooler is able to be a leader and spread love.
“What I want to take away from PALS is the new friendships and memories that I’ve been able to make,” Juarbe-Perez said. “[Through my participation in PALS] I have learned that it is always important to be kind because you never know what someone else is going through.”
