Student-led mentorship drives community impact through TREKS Students in Action program

Students in the John Martinson Honors College (JMHC) are driving societal impact through the Transformative Research via Engaged Knowledge and Scholarship (TREKS) Students in Action program. Led by Jason Ware, clinical associate professor and director of Engaged Scholar Development in the JMHC, TREKS equips undergraduates to engage deeply with community challenges through classroom learning and hands-on experiences.

As part of the initiative, undergraduate scholars mentor middle and high school students through community-based service-learning projects. The program’s impact reaches both groups by preparing youth to lead in their communities and challenging undergraduates to grow into thoughtful, reflective leaders.

“Undergrads are mentoring middle and high school kids, and together we’re impacting our communities in ways that wouldn’t happen if any of us tried to do this alone,” Ware says.

Through a model of tiered mentorship, undergraduates guide youth in designing and leading service projects, gaining practical skills in communication, leadership, critical thinking and project management.

Student-led conferences play a key role in this effort. These events, coordinated logistically by undergraduate student Jackson Stone, brought Students in Action teams together to support their work and showcase their impact. While Jackson managed the logistical aspects, such as securing rooms and ensuring the events ran smoothly, the sessions and content were thoughtfully planned by fellow students Nate Albin and Haley Zeri.

“Before last semester, I never did any logistics planning for this scale of event or these types of activities,” Stone explains. “But seeing everyone come in for our very first conference last semester, I knew that I had pulled it off. It was so rewarding to watch everyone interact with each other knowing that I created the chance for these opportunities.”

College students embedded directly in schools are learning how to connect with middle and high schoolers in ways that are encouraging, affirming and constructively firm when needed.

“TREKS helped me to realize that leadership is still leadership, even when it's informal or a one-off experience,” says Stone. “What's important is that you can reflect on these experiences and learn to apply them in the future.”

Students in Action is more than a program—it is a model for how higher education can cultivate socially conscious leaders. This initiative supports the TREKS research generator’s growth as an example of what can happen when purposeful student leadership drives change.

“There’s power in being intentional about making a difference,” Ware says. “And there’s even more power when that difference happens through mentorship.”

For more information on TREKS and the Students in Action initiative, visit the TREKS webpage.

Shree Balasubramaniyan

Communication Assistant for Teaching and Learning, tlcoms@purdue.edu