1. Breaking down the Walls:
How a Writing Center's Service Learning Project Inspires Disadvantaged Youth
Neva Lozada, MA
Monmouth University
Student Campus Visit
Pen Pal Project Press
Monmouth University Writing Services
Pen Pal Project Overview
Writing Services is part of the Center for Student Success at Monmouth University. The mission of Writing Services is to produce stronger writers, not just better papers. We offer one-on-one writing assistance in all academic disciplines and at all stages of the writing process, from brainstorming ideas and writing drafts to polishing the final revision and reviewing documentation styles.
Since January 2013, Writing Services has collaborated with Asbury Park Middle School on a service learning project in which fifth-grade students are assigned college-level pen pals (Writing Assistants) with whom they exchange letters throughout the academic year to further develop their writing skills and explore questions regarding the college experience.
Each April, the fifth-graders visit Monmouth University for a campus tour and have the opportunity to meet with their pen pals and learn about access to higher education; each May (on Reading Day), the Writing Assistants visit Asbury Park Middle School to work with their assigned pen pals on a writing-related project.
This past spring, Writing Services received recognition of the pen pal project in local press outlets, such as The Star Ledger and The Asbury Park Press.
For the academic year, Writing Services will continue its pen pal partnership with a sixth-grade class at Asbury Park Middle School.
This is an effort to not only inspire a generation of young writers, but to provide role models for the youth in our surrounding communities.
NCLCA Fall 2013
Newsletter
Monmouth University Magazine
NJ.com
Asbury Park Press
Asbury Park Middle School
The staff of the Asbury Park Middle School believes that all students can learn and achieve mastery of grade-level skills and experiences regardless of one’s background. Our primary mission is to prepare all students for life by encouraging them to recognize that learning is a life-long process. The vision of the Asbury Park Schools is to develop a world class educational system in which all children will possess the skills necessary to function productively in a diverse global society.
Sample Pen Pal Letters
Writing Assistant School Visit
Research-Based Project
Contact Information
Original idea found in Frankie Condon’s article, “The Pen Pal Project: One Look at the Power of a Service Learning Project to Connect Writing Center Tutors to Students in an Inner-City Elementary School,’ published in the Fall 2004 issue of Praxis: A Writing Center Journal.
Other universities who have partnered in pen pal projects include the City University of New York, Eastern Pennsylvanian University, and Saint Cloud State University.
Neva Lozada
Assistant Director, Writing Services and Supplemental Instruction
Monmouth University
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