This year, De Soto High School has added a new program to assist freshmen students with their acclimation to high school. Upperclassmen in A&M Crew have partnered with staff to create special Seminar classes dedicated to providing mentorship to freshmen.

During these specified mentoring Seminar days, of which there have been four so far this year, mentors discuss everything from stress to study habits with the freshmen-only Seminar classes to which they have been assigned.

“We talk to the freshmen a lot and see how we can help them with adjusting to high school,” junior mentor Morgan Laplante said. “We answer questions [and] share a lot of stories.”

The mentorship program seeks to expand discussions beyond tutoring and instead educate freshmen about how to become more efficient students.

“Upperclassmen from A&M Crew come into the room and assist the freshmen with different school-related topics, but not specific to any classes,” said graphic design teacher Ben Stamey. “[Topics include] how to excel in those classes, how to be prepared, to study, how to take good notes [and] how to handle stress.”

Though mentor-student relations were rocky at first, the program as a whole has been a learning experience for both sides.

“The first couple times the freshmen and the mentors were still getting to know each other so it was kind of awkward and strange … everyone’s learned a lot, mentors included,” Laplante said.

Stamey thinks the program has been especially effective in assisting freshmen to become more comfortable at DHS.

“It’s just helpful to hear from upperclassmen how things go … the transition from new student to comfortable student has gone faster compared to previous years,” Stamey said.

Laplante agrees that students have experienced major social and academic growth as a result of the program.

“[The freshmen] have become a lot more outgoing and are starting to grow into the community a lot more,” Laplante added.