FHN students who will be upperclassmen next year had the opportunity to become Mentors for the 2010-2011 school year. Part of the mentors’ job is to lead Freshman Transition Day, and complete activities with freshmen during homeroom throughout their ninth grade year.

Next year’s mentor list has already been chosen. These select students had preliminary meetings May 6-8. During each of the two-hour sessions, Mentor administrator Anne McPartland educated the students on what they will need to know in order to become good mentors. Thus began the preparation for the incoming freshman class.

“It’s important to have mentors to help the freshmen transition into high school,” sophomore and future mentor Nicole Yuede said. “We all know it’s a hard time. It is always nice to have someone there to help you through those kinds of things.”

The lessons are from the program “Link Crew,” and they are designed for upperclassmen so that they can help incoming freshmen ease into the environment of high school. In order to teach the freshmen proper skills, Mentors must be taught themselves. Throughout the training the mentors are put through various tasks. Some include tips on how to break the ice between the mentors themselves in order to ensure they can work well together as a team.

“They [the activities] teach you qualities on how to be a good role model,” junior Kelly Philabaun said.

In addition to those training sessions, today Mcpartland will host a committee meeting for active mentors. The meeting’s purpose is to brainstorm how the students can improve upon their mentoring skills.

Once the mentors begin to preform well as a team, they will go through another seminar on July 22-23. This will be their final training session and their last time to brush up on the skills they will need as mentors next year.

Finally, when they have finished this process, the mentors will reach the very potential that they pursue.

“That is where the mentors are taught to lead the freshmen,” Mentor administrator Anne McPartland said. “They need to walk away with a deep understanding of their responsibilities”