STUDENTS TAKING
TIME FOR “ME FIRST”
M
e First”: They’re two small words, but
they’ve had a big impact on the Fox
Chapel Area High School student body.
This initiative is part of the Peer-to-
Peer Empowerment Program sponsored by Crisis Center
North, a local nonprofit counseling and resource center
that aids victims of domestic violence and their loved ones.
The goal of the program is to help students achieve healthy
relationships. Participating Western Pennsylvania schools form
a team of students who want to develop and lead an initiative
that addresses a need in their school or community.
The Fox Chapel Area High School Peer-to-Peer Empowerment Program
team, with sponsor Lisa Gibson.
After evaluating a number of topics, Fox Chapel Area
High School students chose the “Me First” theme, which
encourages students to take some time for themselves and
prioritize their mental health.
Teens are under more pressure than ever, balancing a full
slate of classes, extracurricular activities, athletics, jobs, and
preparing to go to college, junior Xavier Perry says.
“To juggle all of that is difficult for most teens to do and
be successful at the same time,” he says. “Self-care for
teens teaches them that they are important and are worth
something.”
“Many teens fail to take a break from the stressors of life and
do something that they enjoy or will relieve them of whatever
may be stressing them out,” echoes junior Samantha Dunlap.
“I think we just forget to slow down, take a deep breath, and
do something for ourselves.”
For the first activity in the “Me First” project, a banner was
hung in the high school cafeteria on which students could
write ways to take time for themselves. Examples of goals
included focusing on something positive every day, keeping in
mind that learning comes from failing, getting more sleep, and
drinking more water.
A student posts a self-care goal to the “Me First” banner showing how she
will take better care of herself in 2020.
Students were eager to contribute their ideas, says sophomore
Danielle Horne.
“A lot of people liked the wall that we created and said it was a
really cool idea,” she says. “And they liked how there were not
many boundaries on what they could write.”
The “Me First” project will continue through the rest of the
school year with a series of self-improvement articles in Fox
Tales Quarterly, a publication written and designed by high
school students, says teacher Lisa Gibson, sponsor of the
Peer-to-Peer Empowerment Program team. Students also
hope to begin a mentoring program in the future, she says.
“I am so proud of the students’ effort,” Mrs. Gibson says.
“It took a lot of courage for them to talk to their peers about
the importance of self-care, and they did so with ease and
enthusiasm. Rather than merely viewing this as a one-time
event, they are already discussing ways to expand the program
in upcoming years.”
Teacher Lisa Gibson talks with students from the Peer-to-Peer
Empowerment Program team about ways to inspire their peers to take
more time for themselves.
12
FOX CHAPEL AREA
In addition to Xavier, Samantha, and Danielle, the Peer-to-
Peer Empowerment Program team is composed of senior
Ethan Alfery; juniors Suparna Agrawal, Alex Blaylock, Jake
Mulhern, Abigail Rickin-Marks, and Hayden Rutkowski; and
sophomore Beata Turnquist.