From a School of Strangers to a Community

Brian Newmark (11), Claire Thurman (10), and Riley Morgan (9) play get-to-know-you games at Freshman Orientation. Newmark and Thurman are both Link Leaders who spent this day guiding and helping their freshman through orientation. Photo Creds: Adrienne Stumb,Watauga Yearbook

Rosalyn Rabinowitz, Junior Editor and News Desk Lead

As incoming freshmen open the doors of Watauga High School and take their first step inside, they enter into a different world. A world full of FLEX, four lunches, three wings, and 1,600 students. Stepping into this world can be confusing, difficult, and scary. To combat these feelings, the Link Crew program has swooped in.

The Link Crew creates peer groups for each freshman with one sophomore, one junior, and one senior. This group of students is available for every freshman and gives them upperclassmen to ask questions about high school throughout the year. Link Crew Leaders connects upperclassmen and freshmen in a way Watauga High school has never seen before.  

“It is the largest program in the United States to welcome 9th graders to high school. Every year it welcomes around 2 million. It's been going on for years," said Dr. Coleman Bailey. “It started as a mixture of a couple of people who had come up with their own thing about how to have students be more than just tour guides to actually be mentoring students for a transition into high school, and how we can develop leadership in upper classmen to actually take on that responsibility.”

Creating the Link Crew program was intensive. Teachers nominated students, students attended interest meetings, filled out applications, attended interviews and finally were accepted or declined. After this process the training of the leaders began. They attended multiple training days over summer until finally freshman orientation came, and they were put into their groups. While this was extremely tedious and difficult, Bailey believes this program is essential for our schools success. 

“I felt like we were a school of strangers. I really didn't think that Watauga students really knew anyone outside of an immediate couple of friends,” said Bailey.  “I felt like the program that we were doing was really good at getting some basic information out, but did it really make freshmen feel connected, like anyone actually knew that [they] existed? Did it really tie the upper classmen to actually wanting to be a positive leader or positive mentor towards them?”

The Link Crew Program turns a mentorship and leadership opportunity into something greater. This opportunity isn't just a resume booster, but also an opportunity to foster a community. 

“I really liked it. I definitely would have appreciated having it, my freshman year, but I think it's very nice that we get to do this for the new freshman,” said Caroline Strickler, a sophomore link leader. “I like the chance to actually have a connection with an upperclassman or a sophomore that can help you,  not just on the orientation day, but also throughout your entire year.”

The biggest issue freshman struggle with is finding a group, finding people who are similar to them and have similar life experiences they can bond over. This is why Link Crew focuses on diversity.

“Diversity at our school comes in different forms. Link Leaders are supposed to mirror that diversity," said Bailey. “They literally represent every aspect of leadership in our school.  It's almost more important for a Link Leader to not have had the best freshman year in the world, but they have really straightened themselves out, they know how hard it has been to overcome some difficulties or to overcome a lack of even wanting to be a good student, and they can share that experience with freshmen.”

This diversity allows every freshman to see a part of themselves in one of their Link Leaders. Freshman Liza Jane Tobaisson mentioned how she thought the link leaders in her group were extremely helpful and eased her worries of finding her people in high school. Many staff and students have seen and realized the great effect the Link Leader program has had on the entire school community. 

“Once the students were trained, 90% of the action that occurred at orientation were from other high school students. It  was almost a day off for staff. We had things that we had to ensure got done,” said Bailey, “but the whole orientation day was the responsibility of our link leaders. Moving more in a direction where the students are connected, but they are taking more ownership in how those connections occur.”