SHARON, Pa. - Penn State Shenango students Raelin Dennis and Kenzie Ulan, both in the human development and family studies program, are preparing to engage with students in Farrell Area School District about making smart health decisions through the 4-H "Health Rocks!" program. The students are partnering with Tiffany Morris, 4-H youth development educator with the Penn State Extension in Mercer County.

Health Rocks! is a national, grant funded 4-H program for youth ages 8-18. Through hands-on activities, the program aims to help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to make positive, lifelong decisions about their overall health with topics ranging from smoking and vaping prevention, stress management, drug and alcohol education, and more.

"Our goal for the students at Farrell is to help them build life skills in decision making, stress management, refusal skills, and self-advocacy," Morris said. "We also hope this program will form a lasting partnership between the Farrell Area School District and Mercer County 4-H."

Both Dennis and Ulan were invited to be student-educators in the program following faculty recommendations through the Shenango development office.

"This opportunity means a lot to me because Farrell is my hometown, and I am always looking for ways to give back and help my community," Ulan said.

The trio met throughout the first half of the spring semester to learn more about the Health Rocks! program, hone their presentation skills, and fine-tune their lesson plans in order to make the experience engaging and as memorable as possible for the students.

"I hope the students at Farrell walk away not only understanding the information we share, but feeling confident enough to apply it in their own lives and even pass it along to their families and friends," Dennis said. "If even one lesson sticks with them long-term, that would mean so much to me."

The group will present to 7th and 8th grade students one day per week for six weeks beginning in March. While all three are excited to begin the program, each of them agreed that the partnership between Penn State Shenango students and Mercer County 4-H through the Penn State Extension has been a highlight of the process.

"We knew we wanted to provide Shenango students with real-life experience teaching non-formal education," Morris said. "It has been wonderful working with Raelin, Kenzie and the Shenango campus team on this project. They have been enthusiastic and eager to learn about 4-H and this initiative."

"This experience has already been so rewarding. Tiffany has been amazing to work with, and I feel really lucky to be part of this program alongside her and the Extension," Dennis said. "I love working in schools and being part of students' growth, and I'm so grateful for the chance to expand my experience while giving back to the community."