On a chilly November morning, a group of link leaders huddle in a group inside the main doors, waiting for all to arrive in order to depart for the Link Crew Leadership Conference at Greenfield High School. The quiet chatter filled the small space. Once the students arrive at school and awake from their slumber, they are greeted with cheery Greenfield High School Link Crew students.

Sixteen students and five advisors departed for Greenfield High School on November 7th to learn valuable leadership skills and build lasting connections. Several other schools attended including Mt. Horeb, Stoughton, St. Joan of Antida, and of course Greenfield High School, the host school.

Students listened to Bob Tryanski, who taught valuable communication and leadership skills that allow the students to connect with their freshmen. The speaker emphasized the topic of time in building connections with the freshmen.

The acronym TIME, which was the emphasis on the 2018 conference, stands for Teach, Invest, Mentor, and Encourage.

The teach aspect of the presentation taught the students how to give clear instructions. All of the leaders were asks to teach their neighbor a skill in ninety seconds. The activities Mr. Tryanski presented in this category were intended to teach the leaders how to effectively communicate information and knowledge in order to help the freshmen attain new opportunities.

The invest aspect of the presentation intended to teach the leaders to read out and spend additional time supporting the growth of the freshmen, even if it means taking on extra work.

The mentor aspect of the presentation focused on the key aspects needed to make a good mentor, including providing safety and security for the mentee when they try something out of their comfort zone. Tryanski connected the idea of mentoring to being a link leader, saying that the leaders need to provide support and suggestions in order to help the freshman reach their goals.

The encourage aspect of the presentation was filled with compliments. The link leaders learned the value of compliments in pushing individuals to their goals.

The 2018 Link Crew Leadership conference was full of games, laughs, and lessons that the Craig Link leaders carry into their prides in the 2018-19 school year and beyond.