By Meagan Ginnaty-Moore, Staff writer
At the beginning of every year, incoming freshmen are thrown into the difficult waters of high school. This would be intimidating, if not for Link Crew Leaders. Indian Trail juniors and seniors come together to welcome incoming freshmen and new students.
“The initial goal of Link Crew is to help build a culture and a safe environment,” said Kari Hemba, a Link Crew advisor.
“Yes, this is a peer support group, not a teacher support group,” said Shawna Ward, Link Crew Advisor.
Two main events Link Crew does are freshman orientation and helping the freshmen on the morning of the rst day of school.
“[Before school starts] we bring freshmen in and do ice breakers with them to help them get to know other students in other classes,” said Megan Awe, Link Crew advisor. “We also walk the kids through their schedule before everyone else gets [to school].”
The success of Link Crew has been largely rec- ognized through the success of the freshmen. Since beginning the program, teachers can easily tell who took part in orientation and who did not.
“[The students who didn’t attend] look lost and more nervous than their peers,” said Ryan Nachtigal, Link Crew advisor.
The Link Crew leaders meet with their group of freshmen once a month to check up on them and to ask how their high school experience is going. Freshmen go to their Link Crew leaders for guidance in many situations, like school work.
“If [freshmen] are having any problems with school, they can come tell us,” said Maddie Shultis, Indian Trail senior. “One of my freshmen had problems with their teacher and their grades, so we went in and helped them out.”
Link Crew strives to make the transition from middle school to high school, or from school to school, as easy as possible. This comes in the form for incentives, gaining role models, and touring the school before classes begin.
“Every freshman is nervous the first day of high school,” said Nyla Shah, Indian Trail Senior. “I feel like [Link Crew] really helps them to find their classes before all the older kids come.”
The help link crew provides new students goes be- yond their rst year.
“[One of my] freshmen from last year [said] ‘you have helped me so much, it is easier getting through sophomore year,” said Shultis.
Link Crew is also applicable to transfer students. As of right now the program is directed towards freshmen, however Shultis says that Link Crew is working toward welcoming every new student. This may be in the form of shadowing or giving tours of the school before the new student arrives.
Link Crew is not just about social success for new students. Every year Link Crew holds two study sessions, one for each final, called Cocoa and Cram, and Lemonade and Learn.
“Studying for finals is way different than taking a test in middle school,” said Hemba. “Is some of it social when they come? A little bit, but it’s amazing to see all the kids with their heads in the corner studying and getting into the fact that they need to study.”
Link Crew is an opportunity for community building between the underclassmen and the upperclassmen, as well as a way to help new Hawks become acclimated to a new building and environment.