What is the purpose of PeerUp?

PeerUp is a Spring Lake club focused on “promoting human connection,” said senior Adriana Zamarron. The PeerUp club meets twice a week during lunch hour to educate themselves on topics focused on mental health, and then puts those lessons to practice through small group discussions. 

The group also invites specialists in the mental health field to ask questions and collaborate on initiatives to make the school culture more mental health friendly. They have worked on adding “brain breaks” to the school schedule, allowing a time for students to get relief from school stress. 

How was it created?

PeerUp was created around 2020 after it was proposed by Spring Lake students. Karl Sineath, Spring Lake High School’s AP Psychology teacher, is the club advisor and hosts meetings in his classroom. It began as a club that would meet and listen to presentations in the auditorium and it has now evolved into what it is today. 

“I joined my sophomore year and I joined because Karl was my english teacher at the time and I loved speaking with Karl and his mentorship,” Zamarron said. “When I heard about PeerUp, I was eager to join because emotional connection is something that’s very important to me and it’s something that I stive to learn about because it’s an ongoing process for the rest of our lives.”