Sister-to-Sister program continues after nearly a decade

On sister-to-sister days you will see groups of girls scattered here or there chattering amongst themselves as they make their way off campus. They head towards a place deemed the promise land because of its oasis of fast food restaurants.

There is however, an unusual aspect of this group. Some of its members are older, some younger and all different shapes and sizes. Yet despite, any physical differences the girls come together for these social outings and in some cases the bond is so close that they could be mistaken for sisters.

Sister-to-Sister is an offshoot of a program called Peer Consoling, started by English Teacher Molly Sargent, nearly a decade ago. Over the years the program’s leadership role has been held by Sargent, junior high English and History teacher Natalie Douty and most recently by Hallie Rojeski teacher of Bible, History and junior high Leadership.

The program involves a partnership between a high school and junior high student for one year. During this period the sisters will partake in lunch time exertions and holiday events among many other opportunities for fellowship. The girls will meet in the 2014-15 school year and thus honor FC’s Sister to Sister 4-5 year tradition.

The program has not changed drastically since its origin. However, this year there will be one difference. Lunches will take place on Wednesdays instead of Mondays due to the school?s new schedule. According to Rojeski the only foreseeable modification in future Sister-to-Sister code involves greater sophomore admittance.

Previous older sister Macy Mascarenas,’16, was chosen for the program as a sophomore due to a lack of junior and senior participants. She encourages all upperclassmen girls who are able to take part in the club to take advantage of the opportunity.

“I would definitely recommend sister-to-sister,” Mascarenas said. “Even if you do have a little sister, still do it because you get to create a bond with someone you wouldn’t see otherwise. Sometimes they [junior high girls] just need that advice. They need someone to look up to. I think it’s a great opportunity to reach out.”

Throughout Rojeski?s four years of leading the program she has gained a deeper respect for the older sisters. She is convinced that for many high school students the program inspires maturity and spiritual growth.

“I have learned to appreciate the high school girls a great deal,” Rojeski said. “Having them as 8th graders and then seeing them grow up into high schoolers has been a real refreshment for me. I have seen the maturity, I have seen the growth in their spiritual lives as well as their personal lives and it is really neat to see.”

Being accepted by one?s sister is a common fear amongst even upper classmen. First time sister to sister applicant Sierra Duffy,’16 admits that she is a tad nervous about meeting the girl assigned to be her year-long sibling.

“I have a fear that my sister may not like me,” Duffy said. “I love girls that age and want her to accept me. I was first inspired to join sister to sister by my two previous older sisters: Amanda Merzon,’12 and Logan Rood,’13. I want to be a big sister as good as they were.”

Senior Madison Seib ,’15 has fond memories of her days as a younger sister. She says that despite the initial uneasiness of the first meeting a strong bond was formed with her older sister Megan Stewart,’11, now FC’s color guard coach.

“I remember when I was a younger sister that it started off slow and there were a lot of older persons there,” Seib said. “Then we got used to each other and started talking. It felt kind of cool because it was my first year here (at FC) and I had an older friend in high school.”

Alena Orth,’17 is a more recent example of a younger sister. Orth says that she and her older sister,Katie King, ’14, formed a strong bond of trust throughout the duration of the school year.

“It was nice knowing there was an older person at school that you could talk to,” Orth said. “You can really connect with them. I knew that I could always go to them because they were older and knew more. You can always tell them everything and I liked that.”

Currently, there are several spots open for upperclassmen participation. See Hallie Rojeski for applications and program details. For more information and interviews with past sisters be sure to see High school girls prove leadership through counseling at The Feather Online.

For more news articles, read Aug 15 article Its a wrap, 2013-’14

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