Entering high school can be an extremely scary time for students. Luckily, rising ninth graders at Dominion have the ability to meet and continue to form relationships with upperclassmen through a program called Link Crew. Freshmen are placed into small groups mentored by juniors and seniors called “link leaders,” as a way to introduce them to not only Titan territory but also teach them skills to help them in school. 

Not only do the freshmen have an ability to learn new skills, but the juniors and seniors are exposed to a unique experience. “Becoming a leader here in high school will help with any kind of opportunity later on. It’s a skill set that can’t be really built in the classroom. You need to have those opportunities to talk in front of people that you’re going through a certain curriculum or something with. It’s a good way to get your first instance of that at the high school level so that you can build those skills for later use,” Mr. Libuit, one of the Link Crew sponsors said. 

Choosing to be a Link Crew leader is followed by many different responsibilities. A large factor is the time commitment students will be making. It is mandatory for leaders to attend the summer training on August 18th and 19th, Zero Day, Orientation, and the first tailgate of the year. Alongside those dates that are set in stone, link leaders will meet with their groups before or after school one to two times per month during the school year. There are also lessons during Titan Times each quarter expected to happen two to three times and one social event per quarter. 

“We specifically want students of every sort. We want students who are honors students, we want students who struggle in school. And that’s because we want all of the ninth graders to have a chance to connect with somebody. Not every ninth grader is going to be amazing at school, so we want people to represent every single facet of the student body,” Another Link Crew sponsor, Ms. Nguyen said.

This year, some changes were made to some of the guidelines of link crew. Previously, leaders had freshman Titan Time with their groups to be able to meet with their groups more efficiently. Now, Link Crew is not associated with Titan Times, so leaders will be able to remain in a study hall with their grade as normal. Another change is that students are able to record all the hours that they commit to link crew activities for volunteer hours.

“I think Link Crew plays an important part in establishing our school culture. Anybody who’s interested or thinks there should be changes made, Link Crew is a real place for them to have an impact,” Mr. Kopel, a Link Crew sponsor, said. 

For those wanting to apply to be a leader, applications are due by Wednesday April 12th at 5:00 p.m. After applying, leaders will be called for group interviews during May as a way for the teachers to get to know the students better. For more information, students are encouraged to check the Link Crew website, as well as to reach out to Mr. Kopel, Ms. Nguyen or Mr. Libuit.