Two Pepp Success Stories
4-29-96
University Park, Pa. -- Farrah Casey and April Polakovic are two achievers who benefited from the extra boost provided by the Penn State Educational Partnership Programs (PEPP) in McKeesport, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Both are now freshman roommates at the University Park campus of Penn State, Farrah majoring in biological and chemical sciences, April in liberal arts.
Farrah Casey, referred to by McKeesport PEPP director Darrell G. Thomas as the "first PEPP student," joined the program as a seventh grader during the 1989-90 school year and stayed with it for six years.
She was raised in the Harrison Village housing project by her grandmother Robena Robinson, who, while physically impaired, was determined that Farrah graduate from high school and go on to college. Thomas promised to make sure that would happen.
Farrah took part in two PEPP Camp summer programs: "See the Future," designed for students with a bent for engineering, and "Minority Teachers For The 21st Century," intended for students interested in education.
At McKeesport High School, she was an academic standout in an accelerated curriculum, being inducted into the National Honor Society as a junior and ranking in the top 10 percent of her senior class of 335 students. Elected secretary of the senior class, she was also a cheerleader and a member of Students Against Drunk Drivers (SADD), Peer Awareness Support System (PAWS), Pep Club, Y-Teens, the Spanish Club and orchestra.
While in high school, Farrah worked as a PEPP learning assistant and a part-time telemarketer for a medical company. She also took part in the Pitt Medical School Summer Internship Program. She received a $500 scholarship award from Pi Beta Psi Sorority in McKeesport.
"Although Farrah with her achievements may not be the typical PEPP student, she does represent what can be accomplished with consistent and caring long-term intervention lasting three or more years," Thomas says.
April Polakovic, daughter of Charles and Christine McClellan of McKeesport, Pa., joined PEPP in her sophomore year of high school in 1992-93. Although already an excellent student when she joined the Partnership, she was uncertain as to the specifics of college (e.g. small vs. large campus). With the program options offered by PEPP, she was able to make an informed choice about which university to attend.
As a PEPP student, April took part in "Bridges to the Future," the three-week summer experiential Liberal Arts program at University Park (10th grade). She also participated in "B.E.S.T" (Business, Engineering, Science and Technology), the 4-week summer exploration program also held at University Park to give high school students a taste of college life (11th grade). During her senior year, she was a PEPP learning assistant.
At McKeesport High School, April was a staffer for the newspaper, The Red and Blue, and was a member of SADD. In the meantime, she was employed as a page at the Carnegie Free Library of McKeesport, averaging 12 hours a week. During her senior year she worked at Kennywood Amusement Park in West Mifflin, near Pittsburgh.
"Without PEPP, Farrah and April might have fallen victim to the `nerdism syndrome,' whereby high achievers are made to feel bad about their achievements by their underachieving counterparts, thereby yielding less than satisfactory grades," says Thomas. "At PEPP we like to believe that, somehow, we made a difference."
***pab*** EDITORS: A photo of the students is available on request by contacting Paul Blaum or Vicki Fong, Department of Public Information, at (814) 865-9481.