11 January 2013
LOOKING BACK: After its first year, how successful was Link Crew?
By Tyler Demshki, Staff writer
Last year marked the debut of a new program here at Poly High: Link Crew. This collection of juniors and seniors was formed to help ease incoming freshmen into their new high school environment. Link Crew accomplished this by accompanying freshmen during schooltime, helping them get acquainted with the new high school environment and doing various fun activities with them. So, the big question now is: did Link Crew accomplish its mission?
Unfortunately, the answer is not exactly clear-cut, which is expected of anything still in its first run. While some students were undoubtedly helped by this program, some felt left in the dust. “I did not gain from either of my leaders because I met them at orientation and never heard from or saw them again,” said Michael Kosan (10). “The other leaders gave out cookies and other sweets, so they did try to help the freshmen.”
This experience, regrettably, was not uncommon. More than a few students fell by the wayside during Link Crew’s first run. However, there is plenty of time and opportunity for Link Crew to improve its program, and last year’s freshman are still open to the idea of it “Link Crew in its first year tried its best to keep all the promises to help new freshmen at Poly,” Ben Schechtman (10) said. “They could try to have more leaders at freshman meetings to help out kids with worries or stress about high school.”
Link Crew in its first year was somewhat of a mixed bag. While it managed to help some freshmen, others slipped through the cracks. However, this is not an inevitable conclusion. When the freshmen who were the target of Link Crew’s first year grow old enough to join Link Crew themselves, they will no doubt bring their own concerns about the program. Those concerns, shaped from their own experiences, will improve Link Crew. So, while the first run may not have been perfect, Link Crew certainly has promise for a bright future.