Entering the hallways of a high school for the first time can result in students feeling overwhelmed. Unfamiliar faces, a new campus and teachers are prime sources of stress for many transitioning to Aragon. New expectations create an atmosphere of anxiety and uncertainty that students may not be able to face head on.
Link Crew, a concept that began three years ago and boasting a record of 150 members, is a team created to specifically help guide and assist new students in their transition into Aragon. A typical Link Crew group consists of eight or nine new students with one to three assigned Link Crew leaders who are sophomores, juniors and seniors.
“[The goal is to] make them feel like they can understand our community and that they can fit in,” said senior and Link Crew leader Joseph Neamati. “[We also aim] to provide [an] encouraging environment throughout the year to help people … feel like they can integrate with the community.”
Recent events hosted by Link Crew include Orientation, where newcomers were given a tour of the campus, explanations of how to use school Chromebooks and chance to bond with future classmates. However, Link Crew is mandatory for freshmen and transfer students. This raises the question: is Link Crew really making an impact or is it just the hopes of the team?
“The tour on the first day [of] school helped me out,” said freshman Kate Chong. “I wasn’t lost. I personally thought that if I would just walk around the school, I [would] feel intimidated by how big it is. So … being there with the [Link Crew leaders] really helped.”
While the new sense of normalcy has been somewhat beneficial to the incoming freshmen, last year, due to the pandemic, events were more limited and couldn’t include as much interaction. Despite those shortcomings, newcomers were able to forge stronger bonds with the people in their Link Crew community.
“I met a lot of new people [through Link Crew], some of [whom are] my best friends right now,” said sophomore and Link Crew leader Janak Bhuta. “[They] were in my Link Crew group. I still keep in touch with all of them.”
This year, Link Crew has much more in stock, ranging from the traditional October pumpkin-decorating event to the more academic, focused on congratulating students for making it through the first six weeks of school.
“[The goal is to] make them feel like they can … fit in”
“I’m most excited to have our first-ever normal year of Link Crew,” said Link Crew adviser Courtney Caldwell. “[This year] we can … bring back activities we couldn’t have before [because of the pandemic]. We can host group activities and not have to worry as much about students [being] in confined spaces.”
There is also an optional Link Crew leadership class taught at Aragon that consists of six commissions, creating a three-way program with Renaissance and Leadership.
Social Commision runs in social events, Academic Follow Up Commission sends notes to students congratulating them on their academic accomplishments and a Staffulty Commission focuses on the connection between freshman and staff.
Furthermore, there is a new Recognition Commision, which motivates the sophomores and juniors of Aragon to keep them a part of the school community and a Publicity Commission that focuses on publicizing Link Crew. Students must apply to be a part of this class.
More events from Link Crew are planned to arrive and expected to be bigger and more frequent than previous years.
Even though Link Crew has only been around for three years, it has left a mark on Aragon. Student wearing red tie-dye shirts seen scattered during school events have created a new legacy in Aragon that will continue to unfold in the coming years.
