Among the numerous programs available at McCallum is PALS, the Peer Assistance, Leadership and Service program. Led by sponsor Richard Cowles, PALS offers opportunities for students to give back to their community through mentorship and charity events. Many of the PALS members have noted that the experience has helped them better as a person.
“It’s positively affected my life by giving me a greater sense of responsibility,” said senior Darby Roldan. “It grows people as individuals and it’s important to me to make a difference.”
Among the many activities PALS have throughout the year, one of the main goals is selecting the group for the following year. This process has multiple stages, starting with applications and finishing with interviews with the current PALS.
One of the main things current members look for is a diverse group of people, involved in different activities. Roldan notes PALS also offers a great foundation for friendships.
“It’s just a great way to meet new people as well,” Roldan said. “My favorite part is making new friends because I’ve met some of my best friends in PALS, and there are people I probably wouldn’t have met without it. It’s a great opportunity to meet new people and create a family.”
Senior Maggie Brown has been a part of the program for two years now, allowing her to see both sides of the decision-making process.
“We work really hard, when we’re in the admissions process, to pick people that will build a community that is, one, helpful for our class and also helps build strong young leaders in the elementary school kids that we work with,” Brown said. “I love that I get to be a part of the Austin community working with a bunch of elementary school kids, but then I also love that I get to be a part of this special community at MAC of people in PALS.”
Similar to Roldan and Brown, junior Remy Lilly enjoys the community that comes with being a part of the program, especially since it is her first year.
“I didn’t really know many people from my grade when I first joined, but everybody was so sweet,” Lilly said. “Each day, every table is randomized, so you’re sitting with new people and everybody’s just very willing to meet you and make new friends, so that’s been really nice.”
In the past three months of school, the PALS have worked on the required training to go visit the elementary and middle school students, but also on Pink Week. Pink Week is a schoolwide event that recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every day at lunch, PALS put on multiple activities that help raise money to donate to the Breast Cancer Research Center.
“We came in [on the Monday that we had off from school] and started setting up the hallway,” Lilly said. “People were at school all day, and then for the last two weeks, during class, we started with a big list of all these ideas of stuff that we could do.”
The PALS then decide what activities would actually be possible to pull off. From there, they split up into different committees corresponding with each event.
Each PAL has a chance to propose their own ideas to add to the pink week itinerary. Brown’s contribution was the addition of Austin Pets Alive puppies. With her mom as the community affairs director, Brown gets insight into the program.
“We did it last year and it was a huge success, and so we’re doing it again this year,” Brown said. “My job has been to coordinate with Austin Pets Alive how many puppies we’re getting, where they’re coming from, how we’re getting them, how we’re taking care of them while we’re here and setting everything up for that. Overall, it’s been a really fun project.”
At the beginning of the school year, returning PALS get a chance to share advice with the new PALS to help them get introduced to the program.
“My advice that I picked to share was that PALS is a privilege,” Brown said. “Every single kid that I’ve worked with, I worked with four kids last year, and I’ll work with four more this year, every single kid has taught me a lesson in their own special way. Every single person in PALS continues to teach me lessons about myself and about the world.”
Alongside getting to work with children, they are introduced to different organizations, like the Texas School for the Blind and BCRC, the Breast Cancer Research Center.
“It’s a huge opportunity to be involved in the Austin community,” Brown said. “Also, to give yourself over to service and really focus on how you can aid your community, and I think that’s a really valuable lesson that I wish every single person in the school could be a part of. I wish that PALS was something that everyone could do, which makes me all the more grateful that I get to do it.”
After being in PALS for a year, Brown has seen personal growth and changes in how she views the world.
“PALS has changed my life,” Brown said. “I came into junior year, a double major here at MAC, so my art and everything that I do is a big part of how I define myself. I spent a long time just kind of defining myself with how I did in my art. Like, if I did well in the piano recital, if I got the part I wanted in the play, that meant that I was good enough. But if I didn’t, then that took a hit to my personal self-esteem. But being in PALS really showed me that you are so much more than your art or what you choose to do. It really helped me come into my own and be confident in myself.”
After Pink Week, the PALS shift their focus to their visits with students at different elementary and middle schools. Once the visits have begun, they visit different schools on Monday and on Wednesday to meet with two different kids for half an hour every week during lunch or recess.
“You get to talk with them about what classes they like, what they’re doing, and then as you get to know them, you build, like, a stronger connection,” Brown said. “You just help them gain social-emotional skills and then for some kids, they just need a break from the classroom. It’s different with each kid and you build unique relationships with each one, which is very fun.”
For Roldan, going back to his elementary school is one of the highlights of being in PALS.
“Being able to get back and support my local elementary school that I went to is really cool,” Roldan said. “It’s important to me to make a difference.”