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Criminal Justice Students Create Mentorship Program with Outside In School for Experiential Education

Before becoming a full-time instructor in 抖阴短视频's Criminal Justice Program, Deborah Slates-Ciocco spent 30 years working as a juvenile probation officer for the Westmoreland County Courts.聽

鈥渓 liked working with the court-ordered youth,鈥 she says, 鈥渁nd I like working with the (抖阴短视频) students, so I thought - why not get them together?鈥

So she called up her old friend and colleague, Skip Eicher. Skip is the chief development officer at the Outside In School of Experiential Education. Located in Bolivar, Pa. (just 40 mins. from the Hill), Outside In provides a variety of support services for youth and families. One of the biggest is a residential school for youthful first-time offenders. These young males are generally between the ages of 13 -18.聽

鈥淲e wanted to come up with something that was beneficial for both our kids and the 抖阴短视频 students,鈥 Skip says. 鈥滱fter about a half-hour conversation, we landed on having our young men come up to 抖阴短视频 to take a tour, meet some students, meet a professor, and generally get a snapshot view of what the college experience was like.鈥

鈥淎t that time,鈥 he adds, 鈥淚 had no idea just how well that would work out.鈥

Restorative Justice

Deborah pitched the idea that she and Skip had come up with to the 15 students in her spring 2021 Restorative Justice course.

鈥淵ou all knew, growing up, that college was at least a possibility,鈥 she told them. 鈥淭here are a lot of people who don鈥檛 grow up that way.鈥

She explained the rough parameters of the project and asked if anyone would be willing to work with her on making it part of their coursework for that term.

鈥淭hey were on board right away,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 only needed three student leaders; I immediately got five volunteers.鈥

The project they settled on would involve a month of training for the 抖阴短视频 students. Then, a small group of students from Outside In would come to 抖阴短视频 and spend time with the class for two hours weekly throughout March. The program would end with a small graduation ceremony where the Outside In students would each receive a certificate for completing the mentoring sessions.

鈥淧rior to doing our partnership,鈥 student leader Corey Negley says. 鈥淚 had no experience with any kind of juvenile corrections. I was frankly kind of terrified.鈥

Corey wasn鈥檛 the only one with concerns. During the mentorship training process, many of the 抖阴短视频 students admitted that they felt some anxiety about interacting with the Outside In students.聽

鈥淎nd then,鈥 Deborah said, 鈥渨e had this moment where they looked at me and said - wait, will they be uncomfortable about coming here? I had to laugh. 鈥榊ou bet they are,鈥 I told them.鈥

The 抖阴短视频 students worked together to create a Google document that contained a photo and a short bio of everyone in their class. Then they sent it to Skip to share with the young men from Outside In. They hoped it would serve as an introduction, and make the first trip to 抖阴短视频鈥檚 campus easier.

鈥淭hey came up with this on their own,鈥 Deborah says. 鈥淚 was so proud of them.鈥

Optimism & Kindness

In early March, five young men from Outside In, accompanied by staff members, arrived at 抖阴短视频 for their first mentoring session.

鈥淲e chose students that were either 17 or 18 that had an interest in possibly attending college someday,鈥 Skip says. 鈥淲e also chose students who were doing well in their program that we knew would be able to handle themselves appropriately while on the campus.鈥澛

As pandemic policies restricted the use of indoor spaces on campus, the group spent most of its time together outside on the Quad or in the McKenna Center. The 抖阴短视频 students strove to give the young men from Outside In as close to a real college experience as possible. They spent class time together, led the young men on a campus tour, played lawn games and basketball, and ate together.

"Throughout this, I found I wanted more, not only for the 抖阴短视频 students, but for the youth as well.鈥

鈥淲hen the youths actually came to campus for the first time,鈥 Corey says. 鈥淚 was extremely surprised... They all seemed to fit in well here, mingling and socializing with our class as if they were fellow students.鈥

鈥淎t first,鈥 says 抖阴短视频 criminal justice major Trinity Wennberg, 鈥淚 was as nervous as the youth were. As the weeks went on, we got closer and closer as a group. Throughout this, I found I wanted more, not only for the 抖阴短视频 students, but for the youth as well.鈥

At the end of each visit, everyone sat down in a 鈥渂ig circle鈥 to talk. For the first few sessions, 抖阴短视频 students and faculty answered questions about themselves and their college experiences. On the last day, the young men from Outside In offered to answer questions about themselves.聽

鈥淭hey gave us insight into what personal growth really is,鈥 says Riley O鈥橫ara, a 抖阴短视频 wrestler and criminal justice major who served as one of the team leaders. 鈥淭he youth hit home for me with their optimism and kindness through their questions and personal stories.鈥

Life to the Fullest

鈥淸The Outside In] mission statement is 鈥榣ife to the fullest鈥, 鈥 says Trinity. 鈥淚 believe that is the truest statement a rehabilitation center can have. It gives the youth a chance that they deserve.鈥

鈥淥ur students very much enjoyed the whole experience,鈥 Skip says. 鈥淓ach of them expressed gratitude for being able to participate in the process. Overall, we accomplished our goal of having our kids get to experience a small piece of college life.聽 By all accounts, everything went extremely well.鈥

So well, in fact, that a judge from the other side of the state heard about it. He called Deborah to find out more. To help answer questions and get the word out, the Restorative Justice class is writing an article for the newsletter of the Juvenile Court Judges Commission. They are also creating an iMovie about the experience.

鈥淐riminal justice can seem like a world full of broken people,鈥 Riley says. 鈥淭he ability to offer compassion to those who may lose sight of it at times is so rewarding. The Criminal Justice major and the Outside In program have reignited my desire to protect and serve.鈥

Deborah plans to make this project part of her Restorative Justice course every spring. She鈥檚 in discussions with another human services organization about a similar project that could become part of her fall Juvenile Delinquency course.

鈥淭hese youth showed me that there are others in the world that will always have different experiences,鈥 Trinity says. 鈥淎nd yet, I was able to relate to the youth in several different ways. They taught me that perseverance is strong and that they will not give up. That they want to have better lives for themselves and their families. They showed me that whatever situation you are in, there is something better for you. This is what I personally held close to my heart after we parted ways.鈥澛

鈥淭he biggest positive aspect of the mentorship program was just being able to see the amount of growth each of the kids experienced,鈥 Corey said. 鈥淛ust by meeting them a few times, it seemed that we were all able to make a positive influence in their lives. Being able to turn someone鈥檚 life around? That鈥檚 priceless.鈥

Marketing Communication Intern Jessica McClelland assisted with this story.