Anyone who watched the shootings at Columbine on the news likely looked on in shock at how something so horrible could have happened in a school. It was out of this shock that two teenage sisters decided to use their voices and take action.
Jessica Marrero '07 MD'11 and Shannon Marrero '10 MD'14, of Gainesville, Fla., decided there was "urgency for something to change," Jessica said, and they took it on themselves to make that happen.
"We had been watching all of the school shootings on the news," Jessica said. It was "a constant conversation at the dinner table. We didn't want to live like that in fear and anger anymore."
Now, the Marreros' efforts to reverse this negative trend in schools have grown from a dinner table conversation in Gainesville to a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Getting started
Jessica and Shannon made that change by starting the Partners in Adolescent Lifestyle Support, or PALS, program when they were 15 and 13 years old, while attending Buchholz High School and Fort Clarke Middle School, respectively.
The fact that the sisters went to different schools enhanced the program's development. "With our joint efforts we were really able to expand this program," Jessica said.
The process of getting the programs integrated into the different schools varied for the two sisters because of different school climates.
"I went to an unusual school," Shannon said, of her high school. It was a public school that had an International Baccalaureate program within it, which led to a "very segregated dual education," she said.
The student population was 94 percent African American, yet the students in the IB program were almost all white. "I wanted to unite the community," Shannon said. As a person of Hispanic heritage, Shannon found the separation of these two spheres "a little bit uncomfortable."
Despite the separation, there never was any outward animosity between the two groups, which made people more hesitant in accepting this program. It brought out a lot of race issues and caused a lot of controversy, Shannon said, when convincing the two groups that they were part of one community.
Shannon said that Jessica's school was a more typical high school with more social problems than racial ones. According to Jessica, there had not been too much trouble getting the program into her high school, and "the school was surprisingly supportive."
The Sapphire Award
In order to fund the program, the Marreros wrote a grant proposal to receive the Sapphire Award from the Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida, a philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. This is an "awards program that recognizes excellence in community health in Florida," said Susan Wildes, assistant director of the Blue Foundation.
PALS received the three nominations required for consideration for this award, and the health care professionals chose PALS as the winner. The $100,000 award was given to help the program "expand into other schools in the county" as well as "develop a manual to share with other schools" to start their own programs, Wildes said.
The PALS program stood out by demonstrating excellence, Wildes said. The grant had extensive data supporting it and good analysis of that data, as well as having partnerships with local schools, colleges and businesses, she added.
"They identified what they needed and went out and got those resources," Wildes said.
Program expansion
Since its creation, the program has grown significantly by expanding into more schools. Involved schools include A-Quinn Jones Center, Buchholz High School, Eastside High School, Fort Clarke Middle School and Gainesville High School. It is overseen by health care professionals from Shands Vista Behavioral Health, associated with the University of Florida Health Science Center.
"It started out as a teen violence and suicide peer group," Jessica said, but now it also includes groups for students with chronic illnesses and those that have experienced abuse.
There are three main components to the program, said Susan Garcia, PALS program director. One includes intervention services such as crisis intervention, individual counseling and group counseling.
Another component is the educational prevention piece, which involves going into the classrooms and discussing topics such as suicides and violence with the students, as well as eating disorders and substance abuse. After the shooting at Virginia Tech, PALS counselors went to the classrooms and involved the students in a discussion that served as "kind of like a debriefing," Garcia said.
Leadership is the third component, with the program specifically focusing on altruistic leadership in the community. The program does "whatever we can do to promote a sense of community, of inclusiveness," Garcia said. They often look to the "popular" students to provide an altruistic stance, which other students are likely to follow, she said.
Specific programs cater to the differences between school climates, she added.
Seeing the effects
So far, the program has made "a great difference in children's lives," Garcia said.
It is a "tremendous support system for all the students," said Barbara TenBieg, a PALS counselor at Fort Clarke Middle School. "It permeates the entire campus," she said, adding that one can see the students using the tools that they have learned through PALS within the school setting.
A program for students with diabetes has led to significant improvements in the health of students. Prior to the existence of the program, 12 students with diabetes had each missed around half of the school year due to illness-related absences. After learning how to manage their diabetes, not one of those students missed any school days related to their illness, Wildes said.
There have also been "no suicides or school shootings" in any of the PALS schools since the beginning of the program, Wildes said.
"The whole climate of the school is more positive," TenBieg said. Each student has "learned how to be a friend," she added.
"Instead of silencing the teen and reprimanding them," Jessica said, the program gives the student "a voice to explain what the real issue was behind the behavior."
By meeting weekly with students who are in crisis and are in danger of harming themselves or other people, PALS gives the support the students need, Garcia said.
Students are educated by the schools on how to be mentally and physically healthy, Wildes said.
"Everyone goes through times as they're growing up where they feel isolated or alone," Jessica said. "I definitely felt that way," but also "felt in a strong position personally to address the need I was seeing," she added.
From Nikki to Nobel
Since its development, the program has been gaining publicity as it has expanded. Notable supporters of PALS include Rep. Cliff Stearns, Sen. William Nelson and the lead in the movie adaptation of Hairspray, Nikki Blonsky.
"She's become a huge advocate for PALS," Jessica said, and has "taken on herself as the kind of really amazing face for PALS."
Blonsky "has experienced marginalization," Shannon said, and as a result felt an "immediate draw to the program."
"The more attention we can draw, the better," Shannon added.
This publicity is certainly taking off, which was made most apparent in the program's nomination for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, ultimately awarded to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. The nomination came from the Blue Foundation but had a large number of supporting nominators including Stearns and Nelson.
"My initial reaction was a kind of disbelief and shock," Jessica said. When she was able to wrap her head around it, Jessica said she felt extreme pride in the program and was really excited that the idea she and Shannon c
ame up with is being recognized by a wider audience. Jessica added that she hopes it spurs other teens to start similar programs.
"It really should be given to a whole group of people," Shannon said, acknowledging that the program is able to run because of the school, the donors, the hospital and people involved like Blonsky.
The members of the program felt very honored by the nomination, Garcia said, adding that the award could not be given to one or two people. "We did this as a community," she said.
Garcia said that she hopes it brings these issues to the forefront. "When you look at some of the tragedies in the news right now, kids are hurting," she said, and "act out in desperate ways which can lead to very tragic results."
Going national
When asked if they would like to see programs like PALS go national, the Marreros, Wildes and TenBieg all emphatically responded in the affirmative.
"It is hugely important and incredibly timely," Jessica said. Many teens are still not being reached out to, she said, and programs like PALS provide "outlets that can lead to positivity and self exploration that don't need to lead to violence, suicide and anger and fear."
"Growing up is hard to do," Wildes said. "If you can get that one kid healthy… they'll take some of that home and share some of those skills with their family."
With the recent economic downturn, families are less able to take care of their children's needs, Garcia said. This can lead to students being no longer able to do programs like cheerleading or soccer that enable them to make social connections and keep busy. Without activities like these, it can be very isolating and depressing, she said.
Often adolescents do not talk to their parents about their problems, Garcia said. PALS provides trained counselors who are separate from a student's friends, families and teachers.
"Our goal locally is to have this program in all schools in our county," Garcia said.
This is definitely a problem that is not confined to only Gainesville, Jessica said. In terms of nationalizing PALS, Jessica said she "would do anything… in order to be involved and get that started."
The sisters also encourage other students to start programs like PALS. "People have so many interesting and exciting ideas," Jessica said, adding that students "would be surprised how many people have been waiting for an idea like this."
Jessica's advice for students is that they should believe in their ideas and vocalize them. Shannon added that students need the direct involvement of the community and have to explain to people how they are affected by problems in their schools in order for this to work.
Currently, both of the Marreros are attending Alpert Medical School. This does not allow the sisters to be as directly involved as they once were. "I get updates," Jessica said, but now she is more an "enthusiastic fan."
"I am so impressed at how expansive it's continued to be," she said, adding that she gives "all the credit recently to those who are running the program now."
"I check up on it," Shannon said, but "it's really self-sufficient."
Their input has not been forgotten, though. Wildes said that the sisters are "what every parent wants their child to be," adding that they are incredibly selfless and "just amazing."
