A new year of high school can be scary and intimidating no matter the circumstances of the school or one’s incoming grade, but especially as a freshman in an ever changing school, this next class of freshman is going to come in during an interesting time at Kilbourne.
That is why Kilbourne’s Link Crew, made up of students who run all of freshman day and who will be branching out into other activities this year, is fundamental to Kilbourne’s welcoming of incoming freshmen and in helping them adjust.
Link Crew’s secret weapon is its leaders, or its “crew”, made up of the Kilbourne upperclassmen who step up and take the freshman under their wing in order to help these younger kids get the best start to their high school experience.
This year there is a Link Crew Coordination and Captain Team of 10 who is going to head the program and help to operate all the activities. The Link Coordinators are Mr. Peterson, Mr. Jason and Mr. Sunderhaus(better known as Sundy). There are five Link Student Captains, Ella Schumacher(me!), Kate Campbell, Elizabeth Bennett, Ayza Haque and Colton McGregor. We also have Claire Renneker on as the media coordinator and Muhlise Kenc as the culture coordinator! These captains and coordinators will be pivotal in making Link Crew great, but the real power lies in the link leaders who will be assigned to small groups of freshmen during their freshmen orientation day! And this is where Kilbourne students come in!
If you are an incoming junior or senior and are interested in making a difference, you should definitely sign up to be a link leader!
There is a selection process, meaning not every kids who signs up is guaranteed a spot, but it’s always better to sign up and see what happens!
This can feel like a big responsibility, so if you’re on the fence, you read these freshmen’s stories of how their link leaders impacted them. This is the impact link leaders can make on the freshmen they get to hang out with on Link Day!
Freshman Claire Hertz is fun-loving and generally outgoing, but she shared that she had a lot of worry and concern over being a freshman and coming to Kilbourne, especially on the first day. Along with this, she also shared how having a link leader helped her out a lot. She told us that, “It helped to have a link leader to just help me out and to make me feel happier and comforted and better about my day and knowing I could talk to someone in case I felt not happy or awkward.”
This is exactly what Link Crew’s purpose is. New schools and new atmospheres can be scary, but with enough students helping out, Link Crew can be a program that helps students all around Kilbourne, just like Claire, too feel like they individually have someone in their corner as they start school.
Another Freshman, Charlie Miesen, gave us some insight into the impact that having excited and fun Link Leaders had on his freshmen year.
He told us, “Link [day] was great for me because I felt more ready for high school. They kinda prepared me for making friends with people I don’t know and overall made me feel much more comfortable.”
Link crew isn’t just about the tours or the silly games, it’s about equipping kids to go out into Kilbourne and forge relationships and to find their place in high school.
The Link Program at Kilbourne has always been about three main things: to introduce kids, help people find friends, and to create a smoother transition into high school. A lot of the other stuff is going to change this year, and Link Leaders will be given more opportunities for full year involvement, but the heart of link stays true through it all.
Link Crew is about loving younger kids well, and as Zach Peterson puts it, “Creating the culture of Kilbourne.”
If you want to create a culture of fun and acceptance and you are interested in welcoming all kids into all areas of Kilbourne for the 2025-2026 school year, I would 100% recommend signing up to be a Link Leader! All information can be found below by scanning the QR code or in your @wscloud email!
