Saint Vincent College junior Gabriel Graham knows what it’s like to struggle in school.
“I definitely didn’t have a normal upbringing,” Graham said. “Because of that, my education definitely was impacted in a negative way. Pretty much all through high school and all of my schooling, I was very much a B, C, and D type of student, and wasn’t really trying to excel or trying to get the best grades possible.”
Graham’s experiences — and his desire to be the education role model for others that he says he never had — led him to pursue a teaching career in college.
And they led him to Greensburg Salem Middle School’s After-School Academic Program, also called ASAP, where he’s now tutoring middle school students who, like he once did, need some help to succeed.
“I think this is a wonderful program, I think it’s great for the students,” Graham said. “I think it’s great for the students at Saint Vincent as well that we get that type of opportunity to come in here and get this experience.”
The program, run by teachers Liz Zeglin and Barb Garofola, started at the beginning of this year and grew out of a previous reading-focused program that ran at the middle school in past years.
“(Kids) needed some structured time to do overdue work, to study for tests, and kind of a quiet space to get their schoolwork and classwork done,” Garofola said.
“There’s not as many distractions here as there would be at home. Somebody’s here to say to you ‘get off your phone.’ At home, that’s a tough call — when you’re an adolescent and you’re not mature yet, it’s a tough thing to try to make yourself do. It’s a safe place to be.”
Extra help
The new iteration of the program allows students to stay after school and catch up on classwork in a focused environment, with the help of college tutors from the area. Students are also fed dinner and can be bused home.
This year, only two college tutors are participating, but Zeglin and Garofola look ahead to the project’s growth.
“We’re changing with (the students’) needs,” Zeglin said. “(The goal) is to make sure we have done everything to have them be successful.”
“It’s just making its way to the kids — they’re just learning about it,” Garofola said. “I think as we move on, more and more kids will (say), I think I’ll stay there.”
A math major with a minor in secondary education, Saint Vincent junior Ryan Snyder shares some of his math expertise with the middle school students.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity for kids, especially struggling students, to get help on subjects they need, and make up work, and have time to focus, one-on-one in a quiet setting,” Snyder said. “The one student I’m working with now is making up a couple of homework assignments before the marking period ends.”
Caden Jordan, an eighth grader, spent his ASAP session on Tuesday working on vocabulary classwork.
“It’s easier to focus on. You can do all the work you need to catch up on. It’s encouraging, and they help you if you need it,” he said. “It’s just a good program.”
Kirra Zembo, who is also in eighth grade, brought a novel she was reading for class to catch up on a few chapters.
“I’m a slow reader, so I came here to maybe finish up a little bit,” she said. “I had Mrs. Garofola for normal class, and she helps a lot. She’s the best teacher I’ve ever had.”
Julia Maruca is a TribLive reporter covering health and the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She joined the Trib in 2022 after working at the Butler Eagle covering southwestern Butler County. She can be reached at jmaruca@triblive.com.