Link Crew helps freshmen acclimate to high school life

Link Crew leaders juniors Jenni Miller and Amanda Schwartz, dressed as Nintendo characters, guide their group on a campus tour.

Excited and eager for high school, 390 freshmen started the school year a little early on Aug. 19, for freshmen orientation. One hundred fifteen maroon-clad Link Crew leaders led their respective groups of freshmen through the school’s hallways to familiarize the freshmen with the school during orientation.

“I felt that Link Crew went very well this year,” counselor Eileen Allen said regarding orientation. “The students seemed like they were having a good time, and I was very impressed with the leaders this year. They were very mature, and they had a very positive and enthusiastic attitude.”

Allen, along with new counselor Lisa Kellert and Link Crew and a team of six Link Crew commissioners organized both the Link Crew training and the freshman orientation this year.

“There are inevitably things that do not go perfectly, so Ms. Kellert and I have to be ready for anything. The commissioners are a huge help to us with planning. We couldn’t have done it without them,” Allen said.

Commissioners spent several hours per day with the counselors during the week leading up to orientation. The six seniors helped behind the scenes with organizing the details of orientation.

“Prior to Link Orientation, we had to set up all of the freshman groups and then pair them up with all of the Link leaders,” Link Crew commissioner Ali Kothari said. “It was just a huge task, because basically we just had a huge list of freshmen and we had a bunch of leaders, so we had to pair them all up and group them.”

Commissioners and leaders had to cooperate closely with the counselors in order for the Link Crew to accomplish its goals. Fortunately, according to Kellert, orientation ran smoothly.

“I have worked with Link Crew clubs at other schools and must say I am thoroughly impressed with the Link Crew program here at Saratoga,” Kellert said. “SHS kids are so reliable, committed and responsible, going above and beyond to not just complete the task at hand, but do it well and with panache.”

Despite having to wake up early on a summer morning, both Link Crew members and freshmen seemed to enjoy orientation.

“I really liked my Link kids,” Kothari said. “It was really nice because all of my kids already knew each other, so they were all really comfortable and there was no awkwardness. We played [games] pretty much the whole time, and we just hung out.”

Most freshman, including Rebecca Lee, found orientation to be helpful and fun. Lee said she “would probably be lost without orientation.”

Freshmen Anna Sabel also had a good morning at orientation and looks forward to a good year. “It was fun to see all my friend again and also to meet new people,” said Sabel. “My favorite part was the costumes, there was some pretty crazy stuff people were wearing.”

Link Crew will continue support their freshmen throughout the school year, starting with Freshmen Focus Groups during the second and third Monday tutorials of the school year.

“Basically the tutorials are just for answering more of the students’ questions, to make them feel a little more welcome and to let them know that we’re still checking up on them,” Kothari said.

The Link Crew will maintain connections with their freshman groups throughout the year through events such as a movie night and the “Coffee and Cram” group study time before first semester finals.

“We are trying to make sure the freshmen understand how important it is to Saratoga High School students to be kind and respectful of one another,” Allen said. “You can be a great student, but it is important to be a great person too.”