The comforting smell of Domino’s cheese pizza and the chatter of hundreds of students waft through the air in the Alumni Center.
This fall, the long-standing tradition of Upper School senior peer mentors holding lunches every other week with freshman community groups continued. Despite a few changes to how these meetings were conducted because of the recent transfer into the Bowden Upper School, the gatherings still stand as an important pillar of freshman life. They build upon the bonds first created during the freshman retreat to provide much-needed mentorship and guidance as the recent middle school graduates adapt.
Michael Vischak, a freshman community group leader and longtime faculty sponsor of the peer mentor program, said the lunches provide an occasion for ninth graders to get advice from and build bonds with older, more experienced students.
“I think it’s absolutely valuable for ninth graders to spend time with a curated group of seniors; there are a lot of opportunities for student-to-student wisdom to be passed down,” he said. “Some ninth graders may be really impacted by their peer mentors, and some others may feel less impacted or not connect as strongly, but by spending time with them and building up capital with them, when the freshmen feel worried about something or have a question, they trust the peer mentors.”
Freshman Dylan Wang, who has been at Kinkaid since kindergarten, agreed that the lunches have given him an access point to the upperclassmen beyond what was provided in middle school and have provided worthwhile information.
“In middle school, I didn’t really get to know my peer mentors much, but now with the lunches I have a strong connection with the two peer mentors for my community group and I know I can go to them if I need help,” he said. “Their presentations on time management and planning ahead have also helped me during the start of this school year.”
Peer mentor Daniel Krasny further explained the value in the lunches for both the peer mentors and the mentees.
“I like being a peer mentor and having these lunches because it allows me to help the freshmen by giving them a safe environment to ask questions and feel comfortable,” he said. “It definitely improves my leadership and communication skills as well.”
