By Nakaylah Kelley

The key to successfully tackling ninth grade, and high school, starts with Link Crew Leaders. Link Crew Leaders, also known as LCL, are the first lighthouses that guide ninth grader’s experience as they officially enter high school each August.

Link Crew is a worldwide program that is branched off of the Boomerang Project. The purpose behind Link Crew is to have students give back to their community and be a stepping stone and a guiding hand for 9th graders during their first year of high school.

Link Crew Leaders meet the advisors to begin training at the end of each school year and also meet in the summer, two weeks before school starts. McCaskey’s Link Crew advisors are Ms. Clark, Mrs. Lopez, Ms. Falcon, Mr. Owens, and Mr. PC.  They train new and returning members, helping LCL’s learn about how to deal with unexpected situations and negative mindsets incoming students may have. 

Ms. Clark has graciously given up her time to elucidate the importance of Link Crew and what makes it so special. Here’s what she had to say: “What makes Link Crew so special is its impact on the community. Link Crew is a student-led support system for incoming McCaskey 9th graders. The transition from middle school to a combined [high school] campus can be nerve-wracking, but Link Crew helps every ninth grader connect with an upperclassman who they can turn to for support and guidance.” 

Ms. Clark also explained another way that Link Crew positively impacts the McCaskey community through the development of participants’ leadership skills. She told me: “Link Crew trains McCaskey students to become better leaders. As the future generation of decision-makers in the U.S., we believe that these leadership skills will empower them to become their best selves in adulthood.” 

Orientation is a day for ninth graders to remember. It begins with the freshmen meeting the Link Crew Leaders they’ll be with for the whole year. Leaders give their freshmen tours of McCaskey and participate in activities that have helpful meanings behind them. One of the activities was “Name Tag.”  The goal of this game is to remember your group’s members’ names and put yourselves in order alphabetically. The lesson of this game is to remember the names of those around you, and connect over their names.

The Link Crew Leaders are allowed to dress their freshmen up in items they brought for the theme they came up with. The theme acts as a bridge for the LCL’s to better bond with their freshmen. Some LCL members give out candy as another doorway to bonding.

The next essential day for LCL and freshmen is the first day of high school when the freshmen are officially welcomed to ninth grade. This day, the Link Crew stand by the gate and excitedly welcome the ninth graders with posters and smiles as they enter the stadium. The freshmen are let go after the National Anthem  to find and explore their classes and if they can’t find their classes, LCL’s are walking around the buildings just in case they need help getting to their classes.