As freshman Ben Nguyen stepped foot onto the Plaza for the first time, a feeling of unease formed. The only accepted student from Spring Branch Academic Institute, Nguyen knew none of his new classmates. A few hours into the orientation, Nguyen finally found people he could talk to — his peer leaders. 

“They made me feel more comfortable that day,” Nguyen said. “Talking to them wasn’t awkward.”

Peer Leaders are a group of about 50 seniors who join their assigned freshman advisories once a month. Their purpose is to remind them about important academic dates, lead activities and share their own experiences to ease the freshman transition into high school.

In the spring of each year, juniors receive an email from Upper School Dean of Students Bailey Duncan about optional leadership opportunities for the upcoming fall semester. He gives students two options: be a counselor on the freshman retreat or be a Peer Leader. The rising seniors choose to be counselors if they are looking for a short but meaningful commitment, spending 48 hours leading the freshmen through the retreat and sparking conversations with the kids in their cabins. Meanwhile, others choose to be Peer Leaders to make a long-term connection with the freshman class, meeting several times with a select advisory over the course of the school year. 

Because students cannot be both a retreat counselor and a Peer Leader, senior Sofia Kiyama considered her decision carefully. Ultimately, she chose to be a Peer Leader, and she does not regret her selection. She is currently with the Wisdom/Keller advisory. 

“Being a Peer Leader allows me to make a more sustained impact on the freshman,” Kiyama said. “It’s a great way to get to know the freshman class because there’s not many other ways to interact with them.”

Senior Aien Du, a Peer Leader, also enjoys her position. When making her decision, Du thought back to her freshman year, recalling the faces and advice of her Peer Leaders. 

“I remember looking up to my Peer Leaders and what they had accomplished,” Du said. “I wanted to be that for the future generation.”

Kiyama recollects members of her advisory asking questions to her Peer Leaders concerning their future in freshman year, and she credits the leaders for calming the nerves of her anxious friends.

“Some people in my advisory were really nervous about college,” Kiyama said. “Our Peer Leaders were really helpful when answering those questions.”

According to Nguyen, since the seniors have dealt with the rigor of a St. John’s education for four years, they are good at answering questions and giving advice about how to handle their core classes. 

“They’ve been in the situations that I’m having trouble with,” Nguyen said. “I asked them what I should do about volunteering and they helped me figure things out.”

The purpose of the Peer Leader-led activities is not only to form bonds between the seniors and freshmen, but also to bring the freshmen in the advisory closer together. In particular, Du enjoyed making a spirit stick, a 2-foot-long PVC pipe decorated with glitter, ribbons, stickers, paint, and other materials, with her advisory. For the first time ever, these spirit sticks were included in the Kinkaid pep rally, with the stick voted best by the students awarded to the advisory. She considers the shared activity to be a major bonding opportunity between the kids.

For the past seven years, Upper School Assistant Dean of Students Lori Fryman has led the Peer Leader program, hosting training sessions in the summer and throughout the year. For the first five of these years, Fryman trained the Peer Leaders alone, and she regrets not being able to provide as much time and effort to the program. 

“It was difficult to give this program the attention it deserved with all of my other responsibilities,” Fryman said.

Two years ago, Upper School Librarian Suzanne Webb offered to assist Fryman with her Peer Leader responsibilities to ease the burden. Webb immediately began to introduce new ideas into the program, one of which being offering training sessions for ten carriers over two school days.

“For me, it’s a way to engage with kids other than just in the library,” Webb said. “I get to know them in a fun environment.”

Fryman appreciates Webb for her contributions to the Peer Leaders program and for helping her in a time of need.  

“It’s made the program a lot richer to have her join,” Fryman said.

Fryman and Webb worked well enough together to collaborate once again for their Jan Plan course — Confections on Claremont. 

“I think we make a pretty good team,” Fryman said. 

Together with Fryman and Webb, Peer Leaders work hard to make a positive impact on the freshmen. As a Peer Leader, Du tries to empathize with her freshman advisory, using the struggles she encountered in her own freshman year to try to help her kids overcome their challenges and celebrate their successes. 

“I remember all of the fears and hesitancy that I was going through as a freshman,” Du said. “Being able to help them through those same emotions that I was feeling is a really good opportunity for any senior.”