Entering high school is a new experience for all new students, freshman Ankineh Kevorkian said. Sometimes the transition can be hard, Kevorkian said, but with help from other students, incoming freshmen are able to find ways to navigate their new environment.
Kevorkian said some of her older friends, alongside her older sister and cousin, have supported and reassured her. HOP also played a
significant role in welcoming and equipping the incoming freshmen, Kevorkian said.
As an upperclassman, HOP leader, senior Ariel Jang said she is able to give freshmen advice on what to expect for the next few years.
“Every year, we do a welcome rally so [new students] can get accustomed to HHS culture and how we do rallies,” Jang said. “We gave them a tour of the school [and] did some classroom time. It was a really good way for us to bond with the freshmen and give them advice about high school.”
Jang said she decided to become a HOP leader because of her experience with her own leaders as a freshman.
“[My HOP leaders] didn’t really do their job or give us advice, so I became a HOP leader to redeem the HOP program and relate to the freshmen on a more personal level,” Jang said. “We wanted to be able to speak to them even outside of HOP day.”
Kevorkian said the HOP team did an amazing job welcoming and reassuring her while setting up realistic expectations. This created a great sense of community where freshmen aren’t afraid to ask questions, said Kevorkian.
“It wasn’t a clique, which is what I thought it would be, like in the movies,” Kevorkian said. “Everyone was very welcoming and just doing their own thing, not really bothering [anyone].”
Senior Sophie Park also mentioned that broadening your horizons and trying new things during freshman year is a great way to start high school.
“When I was a freshman, my HOP leader at the time told me to try and expose myself to as many new things as possible,” Park said. “One thing I would also say is not to spread yourself too thin, and allow yourself time to balance and time to breathe.”
