That First Year

Starting high school as a freshman can be pretty scary if you start at a new school in the middle of the year. I was walking into a new environment where I knew no one. I felt like I had no one to help with my classes or guide me in the right direction. I would have loved to have someone who I could have gone to for advice, tutoring, or even just to have a friend that I could have gone to. That is why I was so glad to become a peer mentor in a program called Peer Group Connection. I was going to make sure that the freshman coming to high school would not have to go through the tough process of transitioning to high school like I did. Peer Group Connection, PGC, is a program where a pair of upperclassmen becomes peer mentors to a group of 8-14 freshmen. A peer mentor is someone who is trustworthy, responsible, leads by example, and provides guidance, support, and a positive environment. As teenagers, the mentees are not going to go straight to the nearest adult to talk about their problems and ask for help. In order to become a peer mentor, I had to submit an application and participate in a group interview. I was asked questions about how I would handle certain situations and how I would represent myself if I were to become a peer mentor. When I found out I was accepted to be a peer mentor, I was ecstatic. I was about to become that one person who would change someone else’s life. My partner and I would meet with our freshmen once a week and teach them a skill that would help them with their transition into high school such as time management or responsibility. As our weekly meetings continued, I started developing relationships with each of my mentees. As the year