Pio-to-Pio Peer Counseling Center opens at Marietta College
Marietta, Ohio (03/16/2023) — A new space on campus will help students connect with trained peers to socialize, de-stress, and share their struggles and successes.
Dozens of students, staff, faculty, administrators, and community members attended the grand opening of Marietta College's Pio-to-Pio Peer Counseling Center on Wednesday, March 15th.
Located in Andrews 204, the center's goal is to provide support and encouragement to students who may be struggling with personal success, mental health/fitness, and academic goals. Students who are Certified Peer Educators will staff the center from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and the center will be open but unstaffed Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. The CPEs do not act as counselors but are trained to recognize when a student needs to see a mental health professional and will connect the student to that service.
The center was made possible by funding through the Sisters Health Foundation and the Appalachian Children Coalition. Current CPEs, members of the student group Marietta Mindset, and the College's Center for Health and Wellness staff have worked to plan the space.
Gary Cates, Senior Vice Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, said Marietta's center is unlike other higher education services, adding that it will become a model for other schools.
"Providing total wrap-around services has become really important in education," Cates said.
Lilly Posti '25 is a CPE and said the center will be very important to student success and overall health.
"This is a big part of my life - something that I've struggled with for most of my life," Posti said. "Students can't function If their brains aren't in the right mindset. They can't learn and grow if their brains aren't in the right mindset. They need someone who can ask, 'Hey, are you OK?' It starts with checking up on a person. It starts with you and me. It starts right here."
Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy back in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today Marietta College serves a body of 1,200 full-time students. The College offers more than 50 majors and is consistently ranked as one of the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Marietta was selected seventh in the nation according to the Brookings Institution's rankings of colleges by their highest value added, regardless of major.
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Marietta College student Colin Walters talks about the goals of the Pio-to-Pio Peer Counseling Center during the grand opening on Wednesday, March 15.