Column: A Happy Medium, by Erin Murtaugh

This Wednesday, I got to participate in an event that is so special to Albert Lea High School.

Every year, 50 to 60 juniors and seniors are selected to become Link Leaders and become a part of Link Crew. This year and my junior year, I was chosen to become a Link Leader.

Link Leaders host an event for incoming eighth-graders at the high school. We lead them in games to get to know their classmates and people they will spend their high school careers with.

During the activities we do with them, we connect it to challenges they may face while in school and life. We give them a tour of the high school and answer any questions they may have. The first day of school, we are there to welcome them and help them through their day. The goal of Link Crew is to help the students make a good transition into high school and be there for them every step of the way up to graduation.

We gathered in the gym with the class of 2018, nearly 280 students. This is one of the largest classes Albert Lea High School has seen in years. The energy I felt was amazing. Everyone was ramped up and ready to participate.

We did a few large group activities and then split into our small groups of around eight incoming students and two Link Leaders. The questions kids ask show how truly excited they are for high school to begin. This brought me back to my freshman year of high school and when I attended my first Link Crew event. That is the reason I joined Link Crew.

My Link Leaders made such an impact on me. Kyle Kriewall and Courtney Hanna, I would not be the person I was today had I not had you in my advisory for Link Crew. The whole program inspired me to be a positive leader in the school and to reach out and try new activities.

I also met one of my best friends during a Link Crew activity where we had to line up in order of birthdays without talking. Kailie Drescher and I have the same birthday, and we’ve been friends ever since we found that connection at Link Crew.

I didn’t realize it until our advisers told us, that Link Crew is funded through a grant that we receive. I am so thankful that money is available to us, because without Link Crew, our high school wouldn’t be where it is today.

 

Albert Lea resident Erin Murtaugh is a senior at Albert Lea High School.