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THE PESA POST
The latest news, views and announcements from
Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

December 30, 2021
PESA KNOWS NO DISTANCE
A pair of college interns who continue to work from across the country represent some of our best and brightest
PESA prides itself on its hard-working, dedicated associates. But every once in a while, we have people who are so committed to the PESA cause and mission that they continue to work with us even after their life paths and education plans take them far away.

Case in point: Andrea Barajas and Milo Goode. 
Barajas is currently a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania studying criminology. She began interning for PESA after becoming enamored with the Teen Court program as a student juror in high school, eventually becoming the campus Teen Court Club president by her senior year. At PESA, she performed numerous roles, including tutoring and mentoring students; creating and performing educational presentations at area schools; and writing police report summaries of alleged crimes involving diverted youth, a critical step that helps inform judges and juries about a Teen Court case. Thanks to Zoom and other electronic media, she has been able to continue many of those same duties, even while pursuing her college studies across the country.

“I’ve been able to incorporate and implement my college experiences with my students,” says Barajas, who recently created a presentation on labeling. The course explained how individuals can be influenced by and be more likely to act like the labels they are given. Barajas related this theory to restorative justice and the importance of giving youth second chances so that they are not labeled as criminals for the rest of their lives. “I wanted to include more components of law,” she says, “and explain Teen Court concepts in a broader perspective. I hope that in the future, I can work my way up the PESA ladder and possibly help start more Teen Court programs across the nation.” 
Milo Goode, meanwhile, is currently a junior studying international relations at Tufts University in Massachusetts. Before heading off to school, he too served as an intern for PESA. Now, despite being on the other side of the country, Milo says, “I give presentations on topics that are very important to me to students who are thousands of miles away.” Those topics include bullying and mental health, and the presentations are given to people of all ages. Goode has also worked on Teen Court sessions held online due to COVID, which has given him the opportunity to meet and interact with judges and learn more about what goes into a case. Goode began by proctoring the Teen Court sessions and helping jurors understand the process of asking questions and filling out forms. He’s steadily worked his way up to hosting the virtual Teen Court sessions. “At this point,” he says, “I’ve proctored and hosted more sessions than I can count.”

It’s one thing to put in a few extra hours at the office. It’s quite another to be so committed to your work that you continue it across several time zones—while pursuing a college degree. It’s people like Andrea and Milo that make PESA the successful CBO it is today, and we’re proud to have them on the team. ■

If you’d like to support PESA’s many social and educational initiatives, please contact us.