Philadelphia Zoo Visits Beyond School Walls Program

February 2026

Students in the Beyond School Walls Program at Reliance Matrix recently connected with wildlife during a virtual Wild Connections workshop hosted by the Philadelphia Zoo. They met Bealy, a prehensiletailed skink, and Rocky, an eastern box turtle, while learning about endangered species and ways they can help protect them.

Beyond School Walls is a mentoring initiative administered by Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence which pairs students with workplace professionals. Since 2017, Reliance Matrix has partnered with students from Tilden Middle School. Each student, or “Little,” is matched with a Reliance Matrix team member, or “Big.” The students come to the Philadelphia home office twice per month and participate in career-focused, team-building, and educational workshops.

There are currently twelve active matches at Reliance Matrix and the program is led by Tyesha Rodgers, Sr. Supplemental Health Examiner. Additional students are eager to join, and the program is seeking team members from the Philadelphia home office to serve as mentors and positive role models. The time commitment is only two hours per month. Students come to the office twice per month on Wednesdays.

Beyond School Walls enriches the workplace experience by creating meaningful opportunities to share your time and expertise while building stronger connections within the Philadelphia community. To learn more about becoming a mentor, please contact Tyesha Rodgers.