Monmouth University pen pals, Kervens Barthelus, a student at Asbury Park Middle School, and Kevin Holton, a senior English major from Long Branch, recently met face-to-face for the first time at an event held on campus. Monmouth University’s Tutoring and Writing Services Department started the pen pal program which pairs writing assistants from Monmouth with fifth-graders from Asbury Park Middle School. The program is designed to allow current college students to mentor future college students from the local community while improving writing skills. The writing assistants and their respective pen pals exchange letters throughout the academic year. On April 23, the fifth-graders visited Monmouth University, toured the campus, and met their pen pals for the first time. In May, the writing assistants will visit Asbury Park Middle School and work on a writing assignment with their assigned pen pals.