-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
-
Link Crew leaders volunteer to lead 8th graders on a tour through the high school Jan. 13. This was the largest tour ever led, as the class of 2030 is the largest in Ladue’s history. “We tried to give them a comprehensive tour of every stairwell and hallway in the building so that they’re not completely lost on the first day,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said. “We also covered bus entrances, security protocols and lunch rooms so that their first day would hopefully go more smoothly.”
Eighth grade Ladue Middle School students visited the high school Jan. 13. The students were led by Link Crew leaders, who guided students into small groups through the building. The incoming 9th graders also met in the Performing Arts Center to hear from teachers and college and career counselors about the upcoming year.
“During the 8th grade tour, we tried to give as much advice as possible about our own experiences with certain courses and teachers to help them get a sense of what courses they wanted to take and so that they could hear advice directly from someone who’d already taken those classes,” Hotaru Murashita (11) said.
Link leaders are trained junior and senior mentors who guide freshmen through their first year of high school. In addition to helping new students transition from middle to high school, Link leaders also organize social activities as well as freshman orientation.
“As a Link leader, we plan fun monthly activities to do with our freshmen, including cup-stacking tournaments and Kahoots, which we [bring] candy and donuts for,” Murashita said. “We have also given slideshow presentations on course selection and finals studying to help them have a smooth transition for next year.”
Math teacher Micheal Farrell leads the freshman orientation as the master of ceremony and is a part of the Ladue Link Crew Coordinator team and. The team is made up of five teachers that train the Link leaders to lead freshmen orientation.
“Link Crew begins with providing freshmen a fun first day of high school at freshman orientation,” Farrell said. “The purpose of the day is to have fun and learn that if you show up, know the rules, and help each other out, you will be able to get what you need out of high school to be successful in life. Link leaders then help freshmen seminar teachers with mini-lessons on high school life, both socially and academically, and how best to navigate life at Ladue High.”
Link leaders begin their first task by calling their assigned freshmen and welcoming them into freshman orientation. During freshman orientation, incoming ninth graders participate in activities where they learn about the high school community. Freshmen are then rostered to freshmen seminars and Link leaders are paired with freshmen seminar teachers.
“Link Crew exists to help students know that each one of them matters, each one of them belongs here, and if they show up and take that first step forward they will find their place at Ladue because there are people here that care about them and want to see them succeed,” Farrell said.
Link leaders change their homeroom seminar to work with freshmen in their seminars. Many leaders take this time to foster connections with their underclassmen and give them academic advice.
“During seminar, [I work] with my co-leaders to create an environment that our freshmen want to come to twice a week,” Jane Carrico (11) said. “This might mean having fun conversations, answering any questions they have or even organizing fun surprises for them.”
Link leaders are selected through an application and interview process. Rising juniors and seniors can apply to become a Link leader in March.
“If anyone is anxious about becoming a highschooler, we let them know that they aren’t alone,” Carrico said. “Everybody will be nervous coming in the first time, but what’s important is there’s so many people in the building that are here to help them. Link leaders, teachers and other students will always be around to answer a question or lend a hand.”
![Team representatives Hotaru Murashita (11) and Regina Copeland (10) play rock paper scissors for the winning prize. The club hopes to continue to implement new meetings every year. “About a month ago, we pitched [the idea], and Madame Milford helped us obtain the croissants and jams,” Secretary Arlo Ziolkowski (11) said.](https://laduetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/FHS-April-8-1200x900.jpg)
