Written by Maggie LaCross|

In  an effort to  establish a deeper connection between upperclassmen and freshmen, a mentor program was created. Every Tuesday,  between second and third period, each student goes to his or her advisory- a teacher’s room in which they meet all 4 years at Morgan. In this room is a teacher those students are familiar with and a group of peers who know each other well. Advisory provides a secure, comfortable class for all pupils. Mrs.O’Brien plays a large role in the mentor program. “I believe it’s very important for students to feel connected,” she said. “Kids that feel connected feel happier and do better in school.”

The mentor program began when REACT organized a meeting with Mrs.Hagness and Mrs.Obrien. They gathered students that they saw as student leaders. Kids in the meeting came up with the idea of ‘adopt a freshman’, the mentor program followed.

There is a different activity and subject each week for freshmen advisories. For example, the advisory mentors may follow up with a topic that the freshmen had been discussing already- like REACT or their opinions of freshman year. A.J Rai, senior, said that in his advisory he tries to start group discussions. “We do ice-breakers with them. On the first day, we used candy as a motivator and correlated each candy to a question.” Several sophomores are participating in the mentor program,  but the majority of students are juniors and seniors. A.J said his favorite part of being a mentor is interacting with new people and being able to get to know them. “Being a mentor is like being a parent. Parents always want what’s best for their child and always wants to guide their child through the right paths in life. And that’s what a mentor is like…”

Freshman advisories incorporate two or more upperclassmen into their room. This gives an opportunity for the freshmen and upperclassmen to connect and allows freshmen to trust that there are students who want to help them and ensure that they feel comfortable at Morgan. “The upperclassmen are being more involved, and this is helping the mentor program to expand”(A.J). My freshman year, my class advisers made me feel like they cared about my class and wanted to help us and ensure that we felt secure with not only them, but all upperclassmen. This fufills the goals of Morgan.  All students should trust each other and feel safe in school.