Students gathered around the Rally Court on Apr. 11 to congratulate the new and returning recruits for Arcadia High School’s (AHS) Link Crew leadership program. Link Crew is one of AHS’s leadership programs in which juniors and seniors are matched with a group of freshmen to guide them through their first semester at AHS. The Link Crew leaders make the transition from middle to high school smoother, allowing freshmen to grow more comfortable with the new environment and clarify any concerns.
The announcement of the new leaders came with a lot of excitement and high hopes for the next school year. The Rally Court was decked out with balloons and a “Congratulations” banner, and the ramp was covered in blue carpet (Link Crew’s uniform color). Current Link leaders were lined up at the sides, prepared to cheer for both new and returning members.
“When I got the email before the reveal I was ecstatic because I didn’t think I would make it in. It felt a bit surreal since I really wanted to be a part of Link Crew,” said sophomore Megan Wong when asked about her experience before the reveal.
To kick off the event, Link Crew officers called out the names of new recruits, who moved up the walkway to accept thunderous applause and collect their prize– a pop-it and a rubber duck. Friends of these hardworking students cheered and watched with pride. Congratulations to Nathanael Acker, Simone Ball, Maegan Cericos, Izabella Chan, Juliet Colbert, Avery Gu, Fiona Guan, Collin Hang, Evan Hua, Natalie Huang, Hazel Jung, Aiden Khun, Heather Lam, Malia Leba, Kaitlyn Liu, Amrutha Marlapati, Abigail Parker, Evan Qiao, Jason Rizzo, Jacob Stemwell, Tanner Szto, Isabella Tran, Sky Treetas, Carys Wang, Lea Wang, Megan Wong, Terrence Wu, Vincente Xolalpa, Jacob Yu, and Melinda Yu!
New Link leader and sophomore Hazel Jung is enthusiastic about the upcoming year.
“Something I’m looking forward to is growing my leadership skills throughout a fun and memorable journey with my friends in Link Crew,” said Jung.
Wong looks forward to helping out new freshmen and guiding them through their first semester at AHS.
“I live in a household with three older brothers, so I hope with my position in Link Crew I could get the chance to be an older sibling figure to [the freshmen],” she said. “I hope to build a community within my soon-to-be freshman group and Link Crew itself!”
Returning members were announced and congratulated after the new recruits received their limelight. Natalia Banuelos, Evan Chen, Jake Chung, Manuel Estrada Garcia, Kelly Fong, Hannah Grafman, Katie Huang, Naveen Imran, Meredith Kim, Sophia Leung, Amanda Lin, Marcus Loo, Arianna Martinez, Kaitlynn Minguez Rae, Maila Paraiso-Carrasco, Aviya Ramji, Maanya Sharma, Thomas Shi, Johan Thomas, and Tia Tran came forward, thrilled to continue their journey in Link Crew.
Every leader for the 2024-2025 school year has displayed consistency and perseverance throughout the application and interview process, and they received due credit for their work.
Link Crew reveal day ended with a huge group photo that included current seniors, recruits, and returning members. It was a bittersweet moment for those graduating this year as their time in Link Crew came to a close.
Photo courtesy of Link Crew
