A KCP Interview with Miss Lindstrom
Arizona College Prep has been growing in size every year. At the start of the 2019-2020 school year, we have received more transfers and a larger than usual freshman class. With the exponential expansion of the school, it is vital that the new students have guidance in treading the newly-discovered waters in their life known as high school. This sparked a revamp for the mentor program now known as the Knights Connection Program. Led by Miss Lindstrom, KCP seeks to connect the incoming freshman and transfer students to the seniors and teachers of ACP. The seniors or mentors would guide their mentees, the freshmen, in their everyday school lives to help them adapt to high school. From giving advice to helping with school work and scheduling, the mentors are there for their mentees’ every need. Being the leader of KCP, we decided to ask Miss Lindstrom a few questions about the program and its future. Here’s what she had to say.
Q: What inspired you to restart and lead the KCP Program?
A: The year prior to starting KCP, ACP has seen one of its largest freshman classes. This led the staff to start leaning toward a mentorship program to connect the school with these new Knights. I help organize their year, and I’m already in close contact with the seniors, which, in return, began the start-up of the Knights Connection Program.
Q: What were some of your challenges with the program from operating to organizing?
A: Our greatest challenge was the one that put all operations on hold, which was COVID. COVID shut down the schools and restricted all social interaction, which was a major setback on a program that builds its core around interacting with one another. Although our mentors were still able to stay in contact with our freshman via email and social media, it made it extremely difficult to help integrate the freshman into the school not knowing who would be doing in-person learning and who would be staying online.
Q: What aspirations do you have for the club going into next year?
A: Although I will not be a part of the program next year, I know the new leader, Mrs. Michaelson, will be a great fit for the program with her social nature. Prior to COVID, I reached out to her to assist me, as I saw it would be a great fit for her and the students involved in KCP. With the pandemic slowly coming to an end, hopefully, next school year we can do what we couldn’t this year with social events and interactions between the mentors and mentees to build a connection with one another.
Q: If you could change anything about the program from this year, What would it be and why?
A: I would have loved to involve more of the teachers in the program, specifically the freshman teachers as they would get to form a closer bond with their students within the program. Other than that, the program was headed on the right path as they were intending to guide it on before COVID stopped it in its tracks. I know next year Michaelson will carry out the vision we had set for KCP to display to the community.
In Its first year, KCP has set a nice foundation for the future years to come. With the number of adversities and external challenges declining, KCP will set out to accomplish what it was originally intended to. With a new leader and a fresh group of students, the program is destined for great things. Thank you to Ms. Lindstrom for all the work you’ve done this year!