Thanks to Lakeside High School’s Link Crew program, gone are the days where freshmen felt like little fish in a big pond full of “scary” upperclassmen.
Before school started on Aug. 4 for Columbia County students, freshmen were invited to attend orientation which included a program called Link Crew.
Link Crew, a nationwide program, focuses on student leadership and welcoming freshmen to their new high school environment through juniors and seniors.
Grace Bellmer, the Link Crew’s coordinator, said the program was implemented at Lakeside High School in 2017 and as a Lakeside alumnus, she found it to be an important initiative to welcome freshmen.
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“I kind of relate Link Crew to like a college orientation experience. I remember my freshmen year of college where it was this whole big, fun weekend where it took your mind off of what you were nervous about and really focused you on the things that were going to be fun, cool, and exciting while still delivering information that was important,” said Bellmer. “We are bringing in freshmen; they’re meeting new people and gaining skills, but they’re also learning the things that are going to help them be successful.”
Bellmer said she focuses on talking about how freshmen make their four years at Lakeside matter, and the importance of joining different social groups or extracurricular activities early on to get the most out of their experience.
“It’s also to let them know that it’s okay to get involved from day one, and we want you to get involved from day one,” she said. “A lot of freshmen tend to hang back and feel like they need to just feel it out and test the waters their first year.”
Bellmer said Link Crew encourages students to get more involved without feeling nervous or anxious by laying out all the opportunities that are available to them. By having juniors and seniors as leaders, freshmen are also able to ask questions and receive advice from those who are more experienced.
“Coming to open house is one thing. You get to meet your teachers, you get a couple supplies lists, you walk the halls maybe. But being here where it’s just the students and they’re interacting with their peers and mentors, it’s a totally different experience,” she said. “I think when we can break down those walls and get them more comfortable in this building, then that first day doesn’t seem quite as scary.”
Bellmer said she thinks many freshmen put up walls and try to hide their nervousness, but Link Crew allows them to address their fears in a healthy and productive manner.
“The entire thing in general was really fun. It felt more fun-oriented rather than trying to shove a ton of information in your head and hoping you remember some of it,” said freshmen Ibraheem Hassan.
Hassan said he expected the program to be “packed” full of information and was pleasantly surprised to find by all the enjoyable group exercises. His twin brother, Kareem Hassan, said he felt the informal, camp environment allowed for freshmen to feel more comfortable to ask questions and get to know one another.
“It was nice to start getting to know the school and know where to go, and where everything is. I think the more times you go through it and walk through the halls, it got easier,” said Kareem Hassan. He also thought, without freshmen orientation and Link Crew, he would feel lost entering high school.
Another freshmen, Kamdyn Abbitt, said she thoroughly enjoyed many of the activities and games the program included because it allowed everyone to get to know their peers.
“I think freshmen orientation made me a lot less scared going into high school. Cause when it started hitting me, I was pretty nervous. But then you start seeing everyone and you realize everybody is just as nervous as you are,” said Abbitt. “It definitely made me a lot less nervous to go into high school and for my first day.”
All three freshmen said they would highly recommend attending freshmen orientation and experiencing interaction with upperclassmen through the Link Crew program.
“It ends up being a much more fun event than you think it would be,” said Ibraheem Hasan. “You actually get to have some fun with new people and your friends, if you’re lucky. I generally enjoyed looking around the school and getting to know some seniors.”
Orientation group leaders and Link Crew members, Anna Darley and Erin Thompson, said they enjoyed different aspects of leading freshmen through orientation.
“I love seeing how they go from coming in as super shy kids, and then turning into someone super outgoing and ready to go into the new year,” said Thompson, a senior upperclassmen.
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Darley, a junior, said her orientation was online, due to COVID-19, and she did not experience an in-person orientation like others. However, despite being online, Darley said her orientation still put her more at ease with high school and with upperclassmen.
“I’ve always struggled with feeling like I belonged in a place, and orientation made me feel like I belonged there even when I didn’t know anybody in my freshmen group,” she said. “I wanted to help share that and be that person for somebody else.”
Darley also said she was delighted getting to know everyone the very first day of orientation with simple icebreaker prompts and high-fives. Thompson said the program encourages the separation of friend groups and cliques which she thinks is important so freshmen get to know other peers.
“They get to meet new people and you get to see how different they act in different settings when getting to know other people. Some people don’t open up to that, but I feel like at Link Crew they really did,” said Thompson.
Darley said, as a leader, Link Crew encompasses many individuals and personalities which help upperclassmen familiarize themselves with each other just as much as getting to know the new freshmen.
“It’s extremely diverse and I like that, because then when [upperclassmen] become Link Crew leaders they can reflect on how they were feeling when they were freshmen,” said Thompson.
Thompson also said she fondly remembers her experience with Link Crew as a freshmen and even continued friendships with peers she met through the program, despite never having classes with them.
“High school is a totally different beast than you have in elementary or middle school, and it can tend to be so overwhelming. So our goal is to give [freshmen] the tools that they need to be able to balance all of the things that they are going to encounter,” said Bellmer. “I want it to be where a freshmen can walk through the door on their first day of high school and they can see someone who looks like them, and they can interact with someone who is interested in the same things they are. When we find familiarity in people that we don’t know, that’s how we build connections.”
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com)
