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Pepperdine Graduate Students and LA-area High School Students Go to Sea 

Many urban youths never get the opportunity to experience life beyond their community. As part of a continuing effort by the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) to mentor youths in urban schools, 20 mostly Latino high school students from Gertz Ressler High School in Los Angeles, accompanied by 10 GSEP graduate students and three faculty members, will embark on an educational sea adventure aboard the tall ship Tole Mour out of Long Beach on Saturday, Oct. 20.  

The high school students, many of whom have never boarded a ship or seen the ocean, will spend the day partnered with graduate students learning fundamentals of sailing, like how to navigate and steer the ship, prepare meals in the galley, and care for the ocean. Three groups or “watches” will compete against one another in an exercise of teamwork to test which group best performs a maneuver called “tacking.” Each maneuver will be judged on safety, speed, teamwork, and ability to successfully tack the ship.  

Last spring, high school students from Gertz Ressler met with GSEP students for five Saturday events and will do the same this fall, staying in contact through email in between meetings. Up until last spring, some of the Gertz Ressler participants had never met a college-educated student. This fostering relationship is made possible by the Riordan Extreme Leaders Mentoring Program in which the high school students are involved.