MHS students Mix It Up

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Music from around the world played in the background as Maricopa High School students participated in a lunch hour activity last Thursday. The school’s Link Crew hosted Mix It Up as a way for students to meet each other.

Each student received a string of six beads, all the same color. The task was to meet other people who had different colored beads and exchange beads with them until they all had one of each color: yellow, black, white, red, brown and clear. Each color represented the various ethnicities and cultures present at the high school. Once the exchanges were made, the students each had a necklace to wear.

According to advisor Krista Barrett, there were 10,000 high schools participating in various Mix It Up activities. “The idea,” said Barrett, “is to get people to talk to people they wouldn’t normally.”

Students stood in groups and rotated to other groups in order to exchange their beads, talking and enjoying themselves at the same time.

Student Ashleigh Schumacher said, “I thought it (the activity) was awesome!”

Amber Redger said, “I think more people need to get involved. It’s not hard to just say ‘Hey, you want to trade beads.'”

“I think it’s a success. It helps people get to know more people,” said Stacey Penshotter.

Barrett added, “It’s simple. It’s a mixer. It was great to see them say, ‘Hey I am so and so.’ It was great to see them talking with people they don’t know.”

The Link Crew is comprised of 53 juniors and seniors who want to make a difference on their campus and work to help the freshman transition into high school. According to Barrett, “Entering ninth grade can be a difficult process for many teens, and now we have a program to assist them with many of the difficulties they may face.”

Each Link Crew member supports roughly 11 freshmen students. There are three areas they focus on: the link connections with freshmen mentioned above, the homework help/tutoring program, and mediation training (18 Link Crew members have completed this training in order to assist freshman students).

Students involved in the Link Crew are also involved in sports, clubs and activities and have an average GPA of 3.5.

Photos by Carrie Vargas