Whitmer High School launched a new program for incoming freshmen this year called Link Crew. The goal of this new program is to help students to be more successful in their first year of high school. Whitmer CTC associate principal Mr. Thomas Ziems was the leader in bringing this national program to campus and he has a vision on how this can make a big impact on student success. 

 “My goal is kind of a long term goal,” associate principal Ziems said. Ziems has seen Link Crew in action at other high schools and says that  “I was able to see a positive impact that younger and older students could have on each other.” Link Crew can be found in a variety of campuses across the country and Northwest Ohio.

Link Crew is a national student leadership program operating in over 3,705 schools in 47 U.S. states. Each school focuses on selecting individuals who are juniors or seniors at their high school and represent a diverse view of their student population. These adolescents are called “Link Leaders” Their main purpose is to act as a mentor for freshmen. 

 “My hope is in three to five years to have built some kind of a community,”Mr Zeims stated. “Hopefully we can make ninth graders more comfortable.”

Prior to the first day of school this year, freshmen were welcomed with music and cheers by WHS faculty, staff and the 2022-23 Link Crew leaders. They spent the freshman -only day on campus in small groups, where they participated in team building activities, friendship building, opportunities, and an in depth tour of the new school they’ll be calling home for the next four years. Small groups were run by Whitmer Link Crew Juniors and Seniors who applied, were selected, and then trained starting spring of last year and over their summer. 

“I like Link Crew, I am actually still friendly with my Link Crew leader,” freshman Arianna Massey says.  “I feel like it definitely gives us a sense of stability going into these new years,” she continues.

 50 students from various freshman English classrooms were given a survey about Link Crew to answer. There were mixed reviews about how the first day played out, but overall the feedback looks to a very positive future. 

“I think it was a good way for a lot more of us to know more about each other and for some people to make more friends.”freshman Kyler Koopmans, stated.  Kyler explains that “[t]hey helped me a lot in the beginning of the school year because they just made sure I knew where my classes were and where to go.” 

Though the majority of feedback from freshmen is positive, there are still items to grow on and refine. Within the next few years, Whitmer is trying to work out all the “bugs” that go along with launching a new program. One of the primary critiques appears to be an easy fix.            

“Orientation day was a fun day. Although the link leaders in the hallways, and in the auditorium did help and made me feel more welcome, my link leaders did not,” Riley Buchanan posted on an online survey.  “They made me feel as if they didn’t want to be there and they were just doing it to make themselves look good.”

With all new programs nothing is perfect yet. These flaws will be smoothed overtime. Students have said they would appreciate upperclassmen reaching out first, instead of the other way round. 

“They should have reached out to us and asked how we were doing instead of us having to reach out to them if we had anything to say to them,” freshman Neveah Smith says. “Even a checkup like ‘hey’ or ‘how is our freshmen year’ would have been nice”.

The positive feedback  appears to outweigh the bad. Students have expressed that they have made more friends not only in their own grade but in others as well, leading to building a support community sooner. 

“One of my link crew leaders is my section rep for the band. She’s helped me through band during band camp and helped me with help for the school,” Gavin Magana said. “I don’t see her as only a link crew leader or just a section rep. I see her as a friend I can go to if I need anything.”