When a freshman first enters high school, it can be daunting. What electives should they take, who should they make friends with, what clubs or sports should they join? The peer leaders of Mount Carmel High School are there to help freshmen in all of these situations.
During 2022, the Peer Leadership Program began as a way to cultivate leadership in juniors and seniors through aiding the community. Utilizing the leadership of the upperclassmen, the program now extends a hand to help the freshmen class.
The leap from grade school to high school involves making new friends, meeting new teachers, and struggling in new classes. In all of these aspects, the peer leaders benefit the freshmen class by showcasing their wide range of skills and providing exemplary mentorship.
The skillsets of peer leaders at MC are important because freshmen get ideas of how to get involved from them. Take for instance, senior peer leaders Diego Palma, Matthew Malloy, Christos Dimas, and Leonard Siegal. These four have been an integral part of the Caravan Media Group for the majority of their time at Mount Carmel. A new important member of the Media Group is freshman Brendan Daigler.
“They put in a lot of time behind the scenes,” Daigler remarks. “They plan everything out so everyone knows what they’re doing, and that takes a lot of effort and passion.”
As a way to get involved on campus, Brendan joined the Media Group. Little did he know he would announce varsity football during the Mount Carmel Caravan vs. Nazareth Academy Roadrunners game. When freshmen see the hard work of the peer leaders around them, they want to participate.
The bond between a peer leader and a freshmen is invaluable. Mr. Dan LaCount, an administrator of the peer leadership program and a freshman counselor, was in favor of the replacement of Division periods with Studium. Both provide a social opportunity for students, the difference between the two being that Division is determined by class year, while Studium is a mixture of all years.
“As a way to mentor freshmen, we matched senior and junior peer leaders in Studium,” Mr. LaCount explains. “For instance, freshmen having hard times with new teachers can have an upperclassman to help.”
Even though teachers can also act as mentors, sometimes freshmen would rather ask other students important questions. This is in part because of the student relationship shared between a peer leader and a freshman. Mr. John O’Connor is another administrator for the peer leaders, he coaches the freshman football team, and runs the Freshman First Program.
“[Peer leaders] have walked that walk for two to three years,” Mr. O’Connor remarked. “I’m a big proponent that we learn from our peers versus adults, who can be too tied down and formal about it.”
Making the leap from grade school to high school could be all the more intimidating without anyone to talk to. Luckily, some of the first students freshmen meet at Mount Carmel are peer leaders.
“I just liked talking to them,” Daigler said. “During Freshmen Late Night I just got to learn about other kids, and other freshmen and peer leaders that I wouldn’t have known.”
Mr. Matthew Petrich usually plans the peer leadership aspect of retreats. He prefers that retreats are student-led, and in order to accomplish this, he asks that peer leaders join. Drawing from his own retreat experiences during high school, he realized that upperclassmen have a noticeable influence over freshmen.
“The peer leaders like their roles,” Mr. Petrich explained. “You could see them enjoying being the person who’ll transition the next students into Men of Carmel. I also think freshmen like and trust the perspective of upperclassmen.”
The perfect example of the peer leader’s positive influence can be found through Rhoel Risos, who is a junior GPA leader and joined the Peer Leadership Program in order to grow his own leadership skills.
“It gives me a chance to help out my fellow Mount Carmel underclassmen,” Risos explained. “I want to make them the men of Carmel I know they can be.”
Going forward, the Peer Leadership Program is speculating about accompanying freshmen in more events, ranging from Freshmen Re-orientation to Freshmen Ice Skating.
“The consistency of that accompaniment is everywhere,” Mr. Petrich remarked. “You’ve got it at Expedition MC, you’ve got it in Studium, you’ve got it on retreats, and you’ll see them more down the line.”
The Peer Leadership Program is one of the most important parts of the social fabric at MC. The program forges a bond between freshmen and upperclassmen by modeling skills, and offering mentorship.
“The students at Mount Carmel embrace the motto, ‘You came to Mount Carmel as a boy. If you care to work and struggle, you’ll leave as a man,’” Mr. O’Connor remarked. “I just don’t think this would be feasible without the guidance of peer leaders.”
