More Than Just Mentoring
On May 14, Waverly High’s junior class was asked to be a part of something bigger than their everyday clique.
With the year coming to a close, many students are focusing on summer and all it has to bring, but a select few are still thinking about what can make Waverly a better place, especially for incoming freshmen.
After a youth retreat earlier in the year, the class of 2016 had it’s mind brewing on how to change the school’s culture with the short time they have left as high schoolers. Many creative ideas branched from the meeting they had, and one definitely seemed to stick: mentoring.
Mentoring wasn’t something new for the juniors as a similar system was done with them their freshman year. With planning just beginning, the group of juniors want to have a few select freshmen as their “buddies” to help them feel comfortable as they become high schoolers just as they did.
“We wanted to create a more welcoming and understanding place for freshman and other students at Waverly,” junior Haley Hergenrader said.
The juniors plan create a friendly environment for the new freshman-to-be in hopes to take the edge off after being in a new place with all new faces.
“I think this will greatly influence our school to help boost leadership and help to expand peer groups so everyone can be friendly towards each other,” junior Shane Stokes said.
Having a friendly face to ask questions, get advice and someone to talk to doesn’t seem like much, but when a person is new and timid, that’s more than enough. With the high desire to help refocus the culture of the school many teachers are excited to see what a huge difference this mentoring can make.
“I think the overall goal is to help strengthen the culture of our school,” Sponsor Mallory Gregory said. “I can’t wait to see the students take ownership in it and make it there own.
Fitting in is likely on the minds of the class of 2019, but finding their place and who they are is something that can be very frightening for some.
“I’m looking forward to seeing students, both freshman and seniors, realizing that they do truly have a place at Waverly, and that they have the power to create a positive school culture,” Hergenrader said.
With all this power under their belts, the juniors have high hopes of what could come out of something so small yet so big.
