Woodhaven High School provides a high school transition program called Link Crew, which welcomes incoming sophomores into the school by showing them around the building and giving them an outline of what the high school experience should be.
Link Crew effectively helps new Warriors prepare for battle–the daunting leap from middle to high school.
The sophomores are split into different groups, each one of them led by Link Crew Leaders. The leaders are entirely made up of seniors who volunteered to assist in ushering in the next class of sophomores.
Link Crew doesn’t just help as a way to guide students in the right direction. It also serves the purpose of establishing a school culture, giving sophomores an enticing environment to come into.
Sophomore Alex Vasquez shared how Link Crew made him feel: “Link Crew helped me get used to the high school after I switched from PHMS, they helped me feel more comfortable finding my way to classes and to be myself around new people.”
However, it isn’t just the sophomores that end up being heavily influenced by Link Crew. Even the leaders, who are relied upon to teach, have new things to learn from their experience.
Despite him having to be a leader for others, Link Crew Leader Evan Smith voiced how Link Crew had him learning more than teaching : “Link Crew has helped me become more outgoing in how I stand up to lead others and inspire the new students to participate in school activities. It has made me feel better about myself, and it is good to know that I’m someone looked up to by younger students for help.”
In a world that is too frequently without it, Link Crew provides communication and unity to those who need it and lets every incoming sophomore know what it means to be a Warrior.
