It was almost a year ago at this time that Valeria Castillo was among newcomers at Sierra High.

She wasn’t too far removed from her eighth-grade promotion at Woodward Elementary School when she attended freshmen orientation at Sierra High.

“I didn’t have many from (Woodward) here at SHS,” said Castillo, who almost immediately bought into the events of that day hosted by Link Crew, which is a national program designed to ease the transition for incoming freshmen by pairing them upperclassmen mentors better known as Link Leaders.

She’s among the five sophomores this year who were selected to serve as Link Leaders, said Castillo at Friday’s freshmen orientation event for the SHS Class of 2029.

She knows that getting involved in school – clubs, sports, and other extracurricular activities – will help make for an enjoyable experience.

Besides Link Crew, Castillo is involved in Drama classes and clubs such as Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America at SHS.

FCCLA is a student leadership organization for Home Economic students. The local chapter can provide opportunities for the self-development of students while also preparing them for family and community living as well as employment.

According to Steve Clark, who is the longtime principal at SHS – and only its third in school history – this group of freshmen is one of the largest in terms of enrollment at about 409.

Those who attended freshmen orientation got involved in a variety of ice-breaking activities as initiated by Link Crew advisor Tyler Ryan.

The newcomers later broke into smaller groups to meet and become acquainted with their Link Leaders, who will be available to them throughout the school year during this transition.

They’ll be encouraged to get involved with school. Castillo, for one, knows the importance of that.