PEP – Talk is an organization at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. PEP, standing for Peer Educator Program, focuses on the overall awareness and wellness of the students on campus. Based on the interests of the Student Health and Wellness, PEP members are there to help improve the overall well-being of the students as well as make the students aware of their health.
The club focuses on six main principles, those principles are there to make the students more aware of their emotional, environmental, intellectual, physical, spiritual and social being. The club focuses on many aspects of a healthy lifestyle; for example, safe drinking, safe sex, healthy eating, relieving stress and many others. PEP – Talk was founded to mainly educate the students about alcohol awareness in 1993.
“It started off that they were doing alcohol awareness mainly through a grant through this department,” said the director of Student Health and Wellness Jo Elda Castillo Alaniz.
PEP – Talk is advised by Alaniz and the club helps the students get out of their comfort zone and become better at public speaking. The president of the club, Esmeralda Gutierrez (junior), has become a better public speaker since joining the club.
“I saw the poster about all the pictures of the events that they did, and I was interested… I’m like very shy and I don’t like talking in front of people, so I thought that was a way for me to get more comfortable talking to people,” said Esmeralda Gutierrez, an animal science major.
Other members join because it is within the area they are working toward, such as Abbie Hering, a junior majoring in social work. Some members have found a new aspiration because of PEP – Talk, like junior Alexander Sydney-Robert Solis, who was an engineering major and has now switched over to Social Work.
Most of the club members learn better public speaking or enhance their public speaking.
“I used to be very super anti-social… My presentation skills have gone up great,” said Jacob Alexander Martinez, majoring in Electrical Engineering.
Not only does the club educate the students on campus about safe drinking and safe sex but it educates their members in the process as well.
“I have learned that we should pay attention to what we drink, how much we drink, and who we drink with,” said club member Pacience Walker, Sports and Business major.
The club uses a wheel that is set with the six principles that are set in the club. This is the way that they determine the activities that will be conducted. There are many activities that are conducted with this club, for example Jav-a-pa-looza, Tropical Temptations (safe spring break fair), Earth Day, Relay for Life and many other events that are held on campus.
The most recent event is the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes that is coming up on April 17.
PEP – Talk does have some requirements to join and to be a part of the club. Some of those requirements include being a full-time student currently enrolled at TAMUK, having a 2.0 or higher GPA and being in good academic standing at TAMUK. There is a short and brief interview that one must attend during which there will be about five questions and an opportunity for one to ask some questions as well.
For more information about the club and/or how to join the club, contact Alaniz at 361-593-2382.