As this school year starts, a new group of students are coming into our high school and for, many, high school can be scary, especially when you’re coming into a school as big as Tahoma. Tahoma leadership is working to help welcome and invite students into the school’s community.  The Tahoma News sat down with Ms. VanHoomissen, a leadership advisor, to discuss the goals of leadership and what exactly they do to help.

The leadership program of Tahoma has the ultimate goal  “to provide an inclusive, inviting and enthusiastic environment for students” said VanHoomissen, the assistant activities director here at Tahoma. VanHoomissen has been involved with leadership since her first few years of teaching in Tahoma and hopes to continue with it for school years to come. As for what steps leadership is taking, VanHoomissen explained the different levels that students are involved in. “Bear crew is the first step in welcoming freshman”. Bearcrew is a student leadership group that devotes part of their summer to preparing for freshman orientation and bear days. Bear crew is also involved with their freshman throughout the school year and works to build and maintain relationships with freshman. Bearcrew leaders are there to help their freshman throughout the school year if they have any questions, concerns or just need help. Other than Bear Crew, there are other leadership outlets. Those outlets include Intro to Leadership, a beginning class that any student can enroll in, and the leadership class which juniors and seniors are required to apply for.

Next, I talked to senior Katrina Paige, former ASB vice president, and current senior class student advocate. When asked about her experience with leadership, Paige said that it “changed my [her] whole high school experience”. Paige said that through leadership she has felt “so much more connected to the school” and ever since has felt “happier to be at school”. For new students entering the school, Paige “definitely recommend[s] people get involved with leadership”. She went on to explain that no matter who you are, you can join or even ask a student or teacher to participate in events and setup. She says her favorite thing about leadership is being able to “start something so small and turn it into such an amazing idea that people get so excited about”.

Overall, Tahoma leadership is working to create a welcoming community for the high school. If you are interested in leadership or getting leadership experience, homecoming coronation setup is coming around the corner. To help with coronation all that is need is to show up and volunteer your time.