GROVE CITY, Pa. – Semester-long friends eager to bridge distance, culture and setting came together on April 28 during the “13th Annual Urban Partners Pen Pal Day,” hosted by Grove City College. The event, held in Ketler Rec and on the College Quad, provided activities, a campus tour and lunches for more than 75 students in grades 3 to 6 of Saint Benedict the Moor School and St. Agnes School in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The elementary school students arrived excited for the long-awaited face-to-face introduction from their College pen pals. The students then received a welcome from the Grove City College admissions staff, followed by a tour of campus organized by College students currently enrolled in the Foundations of Teaching course. The pen pals participated in partner games, conducted by Grove City College athlete volunteers; took a partner and group photo; ate a picnic lunch; and then listened to closing remarks by Dr. Roger Mackey, professor of education.

Mackey, a former inner-city educator in New York City, started the program to build supportive relationships and encourage future aspirations. He approached teachers in the Pittsburgh area in 1998 to partner together for the annual pen pal program. In the past 13 years, the program has developed significantly, with Mackey and the selected Pittsburgh educators now incorporating the program into lesson plans, including crafting letters on a bi-weekly basis, employing Word processing technology and building conversation skills. With more than 1,100 Pittsburgh students having participated in the program throughout its history, several pen pals have maintained their friendships beyond the classroom by continuing to write to each other letters with regularity.

The pen pal program was devised from one of Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” which is to seek win-win relationships. Covey, an internationally respected leadership expert, author and one of Time magazine’s 25 Most Influential Americans, believed creating mutually beneficial relationships would satisfy the needs of both parties entering a partnership. This has proved to be true in the pen pal program, as College students are molded into a generation of teachers who can build supportive relationships with students from varying backgrounds, and the elementary students are provided with a positive encounter on a college campus, increasing their aspirations to pursue their own college experiences.

The “13th Annual Urban Partners Pen Pal Day” was particularly special for Grove City College alumna Diane Wahl ’78, a Pittsburgh educator, who returned to campus, and for senior Julianne Pennell, who returned to the College as a Pittsburgh area student teacher and former pen pal participant.

Both Saint Benedict the Moor School and St. Agnes School are supported by the Extra Mile Foundation.

To learn more about Dr. Stephen R. Covey, visit www.stephencovey.com. For more information on the Extra Mile Foundation, visit www.extramilefdn.org.