Yesterday, we honored our nation’s leaders on Presidents Day. Today, join us in celebrating the more than 750 PeerForward Peer Leaders who are working hard to drive change in schools across the country.
Our Peer Leaders know how to influence their peers, to make and execute a plan, to track progress, to hold themselves accountable, and to succeed! Schools with a PeerForward team of Peer Leaders show up to 26% higher application rates for financial aid than similar schools without trained Peer Leaders. That unlocks millions more in financial aid for these students in low-income communities, helping them clear a major hurdle to higher education.
Many of our Peer Leaders not only do the critical work of organizing financial aid clinics and college and career fairs, building awareness through social media, and coaching their classmates one-to-one through the college application process, but they lead other clubs and organizations in their high schools, too.
Meet a few of our inspiring Peer Leader Presidents:
Sianna DeJesus
Mock Trial Club President | Peer Leader at Northeast High School, Pa.
“The responsibility as President is to make sure everyone has read the case front and back and have their direct questions and cross questions, make sure everyone is on task, schedule meetings and practices, and bring joy to every meeting so everyone has fun doing mock trial. Everything is not always about winning- it’s about spending time with your friends and having fun doing what you love!”
Joel Martinez
eSports Club President, Senior Class Vice President | Peer Leader at Northeast High School, Pa.
“For my graduating class, I perform various tasks such as helping to plan and coordinate events. I also do lots of public speaking. For eSports, I conduct weekly meetings, plan what games will be present each week, keep track of sign-ins, and plan larger events such as tournaments.”
Sade Pegues
Senior Class President | Peer Leader at Potomac High School, Md.
“As President, I hold myself and my fellow members accountable. Most people call me “Momma Sade” because I always come with a welcoming smile and hug. I make sure to dot the I’s and cross the T’s. A lot of what I do is mainly done with the help of everyone around me. My fellow members are consistent and work diligently. What I do can’t happen without those around me!”
Our Peer Leaders are a strong testament to the power of youth taking action and creating meaningful change in our country – and they’re only getting started!
