Being a freshman can be hard at times because the school you are attending is new and can be way bigger than the school you attended in previous years.  It might be hard to find new friends to hangout with or even just to have someone to sit with at lunch

Westerville South’s new program called F.R.O.S.H. was created to address some of the challenges and concerns that might be unique to freshman.  F.R.O.S.H. stands for Freshman Relying on Senior Help.

Assistant principal Taylor Porter said, “ The main focus point for F.R.O.S.H. is to help incoming freshman who risk not being on the right academic course.”

“F.R.O.S.H. helps make sure students are going to class, know where they’re going, plus helps break the shyness some students have and gives them someone to rely on when they have questions they don’t want to ask someone else,” Porter explained.

In previous years, Westerville South has assisted freshman through the Junior mentoring program, which involved South juniors going to middle schools to talk to current eighth graders about the high school experience.  

Junior mentors would discuss the classes freshman take, behavior expectations and just the overall transition into high school . The idea was to also provide a few familiar faces for the upcoming freshman to look for the following school year.  

According to Porter, the F.R.O.S.H. program is intended to replace the Junior mentor program at South.

Senior Jordan Penn is a current mentor and thinks the program has been a positive one for most. “ We are here to help freshman stay involved in the school and other activities and feel wanted… not just a student trying to make it,”  Penn said.

Penn also emphasized how the program helps maintain positivity.  He said, “We want students to be happy at Westerville South High School.”

According to Porter,  F.R.O.S.H. is an original program that is very helpful to not just the freshman, but for seniors as well since it promotes good leadership and communication skills.  

One program goal is to provide guidance for the freshman; therefore, only seniors were selected as mentors since they could offer advice based on their own experiences at South.  

Penn said, “ Basically if you have a positive vibe and represent yourself in a positive way then that helped in your selection because someone is always watching.”

Freshman Al Nasrawi Mustafa said the program really helps him stay on track with school because he has someone who is making sure he gets to class. At the beginning of the year, when he didn’t know where to go, he had a mentor direct him to his classes.

Even when he just needed someone to talk to he had someone.

Students that are apart of this program like Bankole Amendola believe that this program should be held at all high schools because it helps give more guidance at the student level and they have someone to talk to who is not just an administrator or teacher.